Cat-Ra

by Monokub

"If" is such a powerful word. What if the reasonings for our duo were different? What if the personalities of our two favorite females were altered ever-so slightly? And most of all, what if Catra became She-Ra? Currently Season: 4

118. S3 Finale: A Parting Wish Finale

A/N: Final Word Count: 25.4K Pre-A/N's

... Uhh... why is there another author's note? The story's over, I- I mean Aroda won, the end... huh... I wonder what happens below...

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...

...

Sorrow.

Hopelessness.

Despair.

Any one of these words could be used to describe the situation presented to three of the last remaining creatures around Etheria.

How could it all happen to begin with? How could the world be on the brink of ruin? How could it be crumbling away into nothingness as people and creatures around the world began to disappear? It would've taken someone of great evil, of great foolishness, to pull off such a horrific feat. Somebody who cared more about their personal gain, someone who preferred having things done her way, and somebody whose selfishness mattered more to them than the rest of the world.

Somebody like Catra, whose personal quest to obtain the complete power of She-Ra lead her to unwittingly start a chain of events that went on to destroy the rest of the world. That's how she saw it after all that's happened. Even as she slowly disappeared, with her disappearance passing her knees and elbow as she lied there in the grass, she couldn't help but think it was all her fault.

If she never became obsessed with obtaining She-Ra's full power, regardless of reason, then she wouldn't have bothered going to the Crimson Waste unprepared. If she took a moment to make all the necessary preparations, she might not have gotten captured by Adora, kidnapped and dragged to the Fright Zone along with her sword, and provided the Horde with a power source that could activate the portal that started all of this.

If she had acted sooner than giving in to her fantasy life, one where she found herself in the comfort of an adoptive family by King Micah and Queen Angella, then she might've found the sword before the world began to crumble. If she wasn't obsessed over her guilt for how she treated her, she wouldn't have tried to save Adora, who might never have regained her lost memories if it wasn't for her. And if she never regained those memories, she wouldn't have become the terrifying monster she was now.

Starting from the Fright Zone, the world began to crumble around her, with landscapes and people disappearing left and right, and nobody seeming the wiser. Save for the mysterious pockets of reality that Adora managed to rip through space, the lands and environments around her were being completely destroyed, with those living in their fantasy lives being completely oblivious until it was too late.

The Whispering Woods, Bright Moon, The Kingdom of Snows, Salineas. One after the other, everywhere she had been to, the places she recalled, were erased from existence, including the allies and friends she made along the way. As if it wasn't hard enough to lose those that Catra has fought with until now, the final piece that tore at her heart was seeing the only two people she could call her best friends disappearing before her eyes, a final act that sealed the guilt inside of her.

At least, that's the conclusion she came to after being emotionally and mentally destroyed by the constant tauntings and horrific memories brought to her by Adora and Aroda, the latter of which pushed Catra's emotions to the point of exhaustion.

The two were relentless as they fought against the unpowered magicat, with Adora taking use out of her new abilities she siphoned from the portal itself, in part thanks to the parasite's own magic, as she tore away and reappeared in different fragments of reality to fight Catra against. Despite the seemingly-empowered state, with her corrupted arm allowing her to move freely within the void for a few seconds without disappearing, the deadlier of the duo was turning out to be Aroda herself, the parasite who wanted the sword beyond all else.

Everything she said, every insult she threw at the girl, stung like a dagger to the heart. While never having the same memories as Catra, she knew enough of her from Adora's own memories, her experiences, with her former friends. She mocked her for every failure she ever had, berated her for her involvement in Adora's own corruption, and never ceased to remind her it was by her actions that lead to the world getting destroyed, slamming down on her the reality of the situation until the girl finally snapped.

Following a horrific view of Adora's personal memories, memories the girl shared with her ability to tear fabrics of reality out of thin air, combined with Aroda's ability to make illusions of herself that kept taunting and foolishing Catra on a handful of occasions.

Here, Catra bore witness to Adora's suffering. All the failures, all the punishments that were included in her suffering, that turned Adora into the monster she was today. She knew she couldn't let Adora win, of course, and she knew that she was still her enemy. But seeing how severely she had suffered through the course of her life since Catra's defection, all the physical and verbal abuse she suffered after every defeat, it appalled Catra. She finally snapped.

She was already beaten and battered by the time she finally cracked, unable to bare the thoughts of what she had done with her own two claws, all because of her past selfishness and mistreatment towards her friend. Whether from the lack of will, the sorrow filling her heart, or the timeline of this reality having simply caught up with her, Catra had finally lost it.

Slowly, surely, Catra began to disappear little by little as small particles of her evaporated into the air in a white cloud of dust. It wasn't a painful process. In fact, she barely felt anything more and more as her body felt lighter from the experience. Maybe it's the best she could hope for, given all that she's done? She's been told countless times not to live in the past or with past mistakes, but how was she supposed to accept it when the world was like this?

Literally falling apart.

Incapable of saving anyone.

Unable to beat Adora, just like every other time.

Being useless on her own.

It was a sight that Aroda took glee in as she saw the magicat continuing to disappear, keeping a watchful and eager eye on her host as Adora walked past her. After everything that's happened, everything that it's come to, she had finally reached this moment. The moment where Adora would gain some semblance of control of the sword, where the mere touch of it would allow Aroda to pass through her and inhabit the sword itself, where she would live in blissful power for all eternity while everything else was erased.

Out of the many hosts she's inhabited, Adora proved to be the most resilient. She wasn't keen on killing anyone, much less harming them, save for Catra and her friends, and she took forever to convince to be more forceful to those around her. Heck, it wasn't until several days ago that she managed the courage to stand up to Hordak, which sent her to the Crimson Waste and resulted in all of this. She truly was a hardened soldier.

But, for what it was worth, it made the victory at hand all the more sweeter. Even if Adora wasn't worthy of the sword any longer, it wouldn't matter. Without the protection placed upon it when a new She-Ra was designated, Aroda could easily slip into it. Without anyone left in the world to stop her, anyone to interfere with Adora, there was nothing that could ruin her ultimate victory.

And then, there was Adora, the one who had sunk so low to the point of causing all of this.

Walking along the plains, approaching the several dozen boulders that could prove useful stepping stones to reach the blade itself, not a shred of guilt remained on Adora's shoulders. To her, all of this, any of this, was solely on Catra. And she was prepared to continue thinking that way until Aroda left her side, and she disappeared along with the rest of the world.

She didn't care. She didn't feel a sense of responsibility for all of this. Not out of some petty pride or some nonsense, but out of hate. Out of hate for Catra and all she's done to ruin her life since day one. If she had been a little more attentive of Catra's true colors, knew what she was really like in the inside, she might've been able to spare herself the pain of all that's happened.

Because of Catra, she was doubting everything in her life. Because of Catra, Adora experienced an emotional pain like no other that resulted in her cutting ties to her former friend. Because of Catra, she pulled away another friend from Adora, a princess at that, who Adora thought she could trust. Because of Catra, she pulled away the one family figure she had in her life by the name of Shadow Weaver, one she had just grown accustomed to again after so long only for her to rip her heart to pieces by abandoning her.

Everywhere she looked, everything she heard, every thought she had filling the cortex of her mind, made her think about how Catra was responsible for all of it. She wanted the girl to feel the same sense of pain that Adora had for the last several months, to understand why Adora was as angry as she was, and what she thought Catra was turning into. At long last, after months and months of effort, she finally managed to, and managed to make Catra see how this was all her fault.

And it only took the world coming to an end for it to transpire.

She wouldn't deny she felt a little bad for her friend at long last, seeing her disappearing a few seconds ago before walking to the very sword that started all of this. To think, Catra had FINALLY accepted the blame for everything she did, finally accepted that it was all her fault, and now was disappearing as a result of it. She would've preferred disappearing with Catra after all that's happened, though she supposed it was inevitable either way. They would've both disappeared after Adora had finished her task, and if Catra wanted to disappear on her own, then she could.

It's all... my fault... Catra frowned weakly as she thought to herself, the disappearing act reaching the center of her spine as it continued. Dark clouds of guilt filled Catra's mind from every angle as she teared up in the corner of her eye. I did this... all of it...

...

"Don't you understand? Nothing's changed. I'm still the one falling behind in the end, I'm the one who's being treated like a burden, and the one who still isn't respected after all I've done! I haven't changed anything, and now I'm stuck with someone else's life, just because of an accident?! I don't want to be She-Ra anymore!"

...

My selfishness... My stupid anger... How could she not blame herself with a lifetime of personal resentment up to this point? A lifetime of only wanting what was best for her, not for everyone else.

...

"Is your arm okay?" Catra's sudden question shocked the girl as she faced her. She kept her focus on their surroundings rather than her, but the fact she still spoke to her at all seemed like a miracle.

"Huh? O-Oh, yeah!" She felt excitement as her heart pumped a little, gesturing to the sling she was wearing. She was actually talking to her again, it was wonderful! "Nothing too excessive. Bow said it'll be good as new in a matter of days-"

"Then get lost." Just like that, all the optimism she felt rising up was quickly torn asunder by Catra's next line.

...

I was horrible... She squeezed her eyes tightly as she tried to keep the tears from pouring out. Everything Aroda had said about her, about how she was the screw-up behind the world, was accurate in her eyes. She didn't show any care for her allies when they wanted or needed her at her side, or show an ounce of forgiveness to them for one little mistake.

...

"But Catra, look at yourself." Swift Wind took the moment in an attempt to get through to her, dropping the rope from his mouth, inadvertently making it harder for Bow to pull her back. "You were doing so well up till now, and now you're losing She-Ra's power. Do you want to let all that hard work go to waste?" Surely, even she cared more about obtaining She-Ra's power more than some petty revenge, right?

"I'm not letting it go to waste. I'm going to use it to pull every strand of hair from her head, and THEN I'm going to toss her off a cliff! I'll let gravity do the rest." Apparently not.

...

Why did they waste time trusting me to begin with...? It didn't make any sense to her, looking back on it. She never forgave anyone who betrayed her, she still harbored hatred towards those people. Yet, in the end, they still smiled to her, some of them even in their final moments.

...

"It was nice being friends with you, Catra." Entrapta waved, as the last of her existence came to an end. "I hope we get to see each other again..."

...

I'm sorry... Her mind felt a little bit fuzzier as flashes of her life continued to haunt her, to plague her, as Adora finally reached the first of many boulders, and began the arduous and dangerous leap towards each individual one that drew closer to the sword.

Maybe I deserve to disappear... It wouldn't matter if she did muster the courage to continue fighting. In the weakened physical state she was in, there was no way she could continue fighting it out against Adora.

Maybe it was always going to end like this somehow... She was always the one making mistake, always the one making brash decisions in her life. She didn't make judgement based on thoughts or opinions, just with whatever felt right to her. And, most of those times, it always ended up being wrong.

...

"BeCAuse all of thIS IS your fauLT." And with Catra's own arm still pressed against her back, Adora pulled.

...

She couldn't trust herself.

I'm sorry, guys... Her eyes trembled a little as she continued to squeeze them shut, the tears seeping through as the disappearance had reached up to her neck. You never should've put your faith in me... I failed all of you...

She couldn't take this anymore. She couldn't take the thoughts always bringing up more and more painful memories of her past, of all her mistakes. With the disappearing particles slowly encircling her face from every corner, Catra had one last thought on her mind before being wiped out from existence.

I just wished I could've been the hero you guys deserved...

...

...

...

But deep down, I'm pretty sure, she can be the one thing this Rebellion needs most of all.

Someone who can be there for you when you need her the most.

...

Catra opened her eyelid a little as the memory came to pass. ... Then... why did you keep me around...? With the disappearance slowly reaching that of her eyes, she was completely unaware as the process of her inevitable demise began to slow to a crawl. I... I was a terrible She-Ra...

...

"Because, you're my best friend." At this, Catra froze. For once, there was a change in Catra's emotions. Not one for the better, but one of uncertainty. A brighter change than the torrent of emotions Swift Wind had been sensing till now. "Catra, I don't care if you were supposed to be She-Ra or not. You could be the world's worst She-Ra, and I'd still stick by you. And trust me, you're not."

...

The disappearance came to a halt as it had just reached the very edge of her yellow eye. You guys didn't... You guys couldn't care for a screw up like me...

...

"Because we have you." Perfuma smiled, growing an all new look of embarrassment for the depressed cat. "Catra, whenever we're in trouble, you rush in. You never cared about how big the other person is, or how powerful the other robot could be. You're always the first one to answer the Horde's call for war with your claws, you're the best at making up the plan as it goes along and thinking of ways out of any trouble you come across. And honestly... that's what we love about you."

...

It... It didn't matter. Maybe they did care about her, or maybe it was all an act, not counting her closer friends. Either way, it didn't make her any less of a screw-up when push came to shove. When times were at their worst, she was always the first one to be brought down. The first one to always-

...

"But for right now, I'm promising you, you don't need your kingdom. You have friends here, Catra, and nobody who thinks of you like you're a freak. I'm not saying you need to drop everything your doing and renounce your kingdom or anything, but I'm telling you you don't have to feel alone anymore, not with us." Putting a hand to her shoulder in comfort, the two finally got to see a small smile on the girl's blushing face at long last, turning her head uneasily as she scratched her head.

...

... To always...

...

"Catra, everyone has made a mistake at least once in their life, okay? We're in the middle of a war, and I guarantee you we're all going to make plenty of more mistakes before it's over. But it's not a mistake to keep on fighting, not when you're trying to fix everything you've done. It's only a mistake when you don't try to fix what you've done."

...

Her eye opened a little more as the tears continued. Unaware of her surroundings, being a disembodied eye floating in place as the rest of her disappeared, she never noticed as Aroda stared back to her, wondering if she was just seeing things or if some part of Catra was still sticking around.

*crumble*

"Ah-!" Before the illusionary parasite could attempt an approach, she was distracted by the sound of Adora suddenly letting out a yelp, followed by some rocks crumbling from the air. Above Aroda, she saw the Force Captain holding onto the edge of one of the boulders, most likely slipping from it before she caught herself. Looking past her, Aroda was more than satisfied with the fact that she was halfway up to the sword, making her previous thoughts seeming pointless by comparison.

During this, Catra continued to think for herself. It wasn't like she wanted to disappear or anything like that. It was just hard to think that she could ever be, or continue to be, someone like She-Ra, someone who was a hero. Even if-

...

"...They at least had the decency to look like they care about me. Even if it's fake, they at least put more effort into it than you ever did! And even if I don't like them," she grinded her teeth as she prepared for anything, "I'd still rather protect them a hundred times over before I went back to the Horde!"

...

... Even if she wanted to win. I... I can't beat her... The magicat's mind had yet to perish as long as some part of her still remained. I never could on my own-

...

"You... You idiots..." Catra teared up. "Why can't you ever leave me alone when I want you to?!"

"Because, Catra, and I'm telling you this for the very last time!" Glimmer said in a stricter tone. "We're your friends. And we're not going to leave your side no matter what happens, got it!"

...

And she was alone as it stood, without her friends at her side, she knew she couldn't beat her.

...

"You've got this, Catra." Glimmer said with a tearful smile as she faded. "We believe in you."

"If anybody can do this, it's you."

...

But her friends... Her friends... Thought she could. A-And she wanted to, but she didn't have the strength to do it! She wasn't smart enough, she wasn't fast enough. All she has is her-

...

"But I meant what I said earlier. I always respected you for your resilience, Catra. Even when everything was against you, you never backed down. I want you to remember to always hold on to that, to always push through the trouble ahead. Do that, and nothing will stop you."

...

Is her... Her...

"..."

What... am I doing? A long lost thought finally came to her mind.

She knew the facts. She knew she was the one who always messed up. She knew she wasn't the hero she was supposed to be. She as bitter, aggressive, took everything at face value, and held grudges like no one else within the Rebellion. She also knew that she could never beat Adora on her own, and right now, that's how she was.

All on her own.

By now, Adora reached the edge of the last boulder as she predicted its projectry. Following its movement with her eyes, she knew it was going to pass the sword within a minute of its time, and climbing herself up to the levitating platform, she finally knew her final moments were drawing near, and Aroda's personal ascension was at hand.

I... I can't beat her, but...

...

"And you always do what you think is right. No matter what everyone else thinks, or you feel that they're against you, you put yourself in front of any danger." At the comment, Frosta turned to the broken droid that Catra dropped behind, frowning a little with her conscious. "Even when it scares you..."

...

Everyone else... is depending on me...

...

Before Catra could follow suit, she was cut off by the sound of Mermista's voice again. "Hey!" She yelled. "You better find a way to fix all this." She told her with a small grin. "Even though you'll never be as great as Sea-Ra, you're still more capable than you think."

...

As the troubling thoughts continued to envelope her, Adora began to raise her hand in the direction of the sword, filling Aroda with a sense of euphoria as she was barely ten feet from the legendary blade.

At the same time, Catra's tears began to flow, but for every other possible reason.

She couldn't beat Adora. She couldn't figure out any way to beat someone like her. She was all on her own, had nobody by her side, and had no one to pick her up again save for herself. Her chances of victory were slim to none at best, and, most likely, a second chance would just delay the inevitable that was to come.

... But... she couldn't give up. She couldn't allow herself to give up. Not for her own sake, not for something as simple and pointless like her inability to accept defeat at Adora's hands, but for their sake. Her friends. The people who were erased from this world with no hope of ever coming back, unless Catra pulled the miracle off herself.

She couldn't pull it off, she didn't know how she could pull it off, and, for once, it didn't matter. She teared up as she thought of the people who came into her lives, the destiny that lead her to this path, and the changes she's made through herself and others throughout the journey.

A journey that all started the day she became She-Ra.

I don't... I don't...

...

And it did... as she turned Catra around, lowered down to her height, and smiled warmly in her eyes as she stroked Catra's cheek. "And to remember, that within Bright Moon, you're surrounded by people who love you-"

...

And, all at once, Catra snapped her eyes shut as she screamed inside her head.

I DON'T WANNA DISAPPEAR!

*HRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMM-!*

"What?" Just as the Force Captain's fingers were about to brush against the hilt of the blade, the impossible, the unexpected, happened.

The energies that were radiating off the blade nearly tripled in scale as a massive pool of energy began to illuminate from its runestone. A glowing white light, one that felt of warmth and calmness to Adora's own heart, began to expand in a miraculous wave of power as a single large ring-like energy, one that grew and shot out in all directions, expanded from the blade. For a moment, Aroda felt the wave of energy as it connected to Adora's mind, and relished how it felt.

Unaware that it would be the last time she ever felt such an extreme power.

The radiating pool of energy wasn't just for show- it caught the Force Captain completely off her guard as she was blasted back from the intense, crashing through one of the several large boulders before slamming into the ground. And while it wasn't enough to lay any extreme injury on the blonde Horde soldier, it wasn't the most troubling part of the display as it glowed again.

With all of its power centering on the runestone, the blade going mad with energy as lightning flourished from the tip of it's blade within the nexus, a miracle occurred. In a single concentrated blast, in a beam of light the size of the runestone itself, Adora let out a small shriek as she ducked, avoiding the oncoming blast that nearly struck her in the head, potentially saving her life and that of Aroda's as the two sighed back to each other in relief.

Before realizing she wasn't the intended target as they shot a look back.

A distance behind them, right where they left her, they saw it. An aura of miraculous golden light began to shine all around Catra as a tranquil energy was filling the missing portions of her body. Slowly, from the lone fragment of her eye that still remained, Catra's entire being began to come back into existence as Adora and Aroda gasped, unable to stop the process without potentially risking their own lives in the process.

She felt warmth returning to her being as the haze in her mind began to disappear, the sensation of touch returning to every in of her as her body filled out to match the yellow outline the magic had displayed that was returning her to her being. As it did, Catra finally knew.

She couldn't stop here, no matter what. She still didn't believe herself to be the hero her friends deserved, or anywhere near it, but right now, she was the only one they had left. She was the only one capable of saving their lives, the lives of everyone that mattered to her. From her ups and her downs, they accepted her, and even if it would take time for her to do the same, she knew she would come to accept them.

They needed her.

They depended on her.

And she refused to lie down until they were finally back into her life.

At long last, with every corner of the magicat returning, including her tail, Catra let out a gasp of breath as she jumped to her hands and knees. The energies pooled forth as her injuries healed, from her cuts, to her bruises, to everything. It was so weird being alive without the sensation of a heartbeat, or feeling anything for that matter, for a moment and coming back to it. At the same time, Aroda and Adora watched as the light finally returned to the sword itself, with the energies dancing around it growing chaotic by the second.

All the same, Adora was passive about the magicat's return. Even if she came back, she was just going to disappear after this was over anyway, and she couldn't beat her. She knew that, and Aroda knew that as she grumbled back to her.

"Ghhhhh, ignore the stupid cat." Aroda hissed. "Just get the sword while you still can." With a bit of a stern look in her eyes, Adora nodded back to her as she turned around again.

Still panting out of breath, the air refilling her newly-reformed lungs, Catra's eyes wavered. Not one with sorrow, or remorse, but realization. "I... I remember..." She muttered, finally lifting her head back as she stared into the sky. "I remembered what I wished for..."

The world was still falling apart around her, and she didn't know how pulling the sword was going to stop it. Yet she knew, as long as she was alive, as long as she stood, she was the only thing standing between never seeing her friends again, and the former friend who went on to... who went on to...

... destroy the world.

"..."

"..."

*swiff*

*Thunk!*

"Ah!" Adora yelped as she was struck in the back of the head by a harsh object, rubbing the small she could've sworn she felt growing. She was ten feet away from returning to the first floating landmass that brought her to the sword before being stopped. Thankful for the lack of blood or an open wound, she quickly glared back with a growl to see something she didn't expect after all of this.

A confident-standing Catra casually tossing another rock in her hand, sneering back to the girl.

"Where do you think you're going?" She spat with a small scowl.

"Grrrrrrrr!" The Force Captain growled as she squeezed her corrupted hand. Seeing the fight hadn't come to an end as of yet, Aroda marched too, reflecting the same grumbling look over Adora's face as she prepared to use her own illusions again. "You really haven't learned a thing, have you?" Her distorted voice cackled, flexing the sharp claws of her right glowing hand. And to think, for a moment, she had actually forgiven her ex-friend after all she's done.

"Trust me, I've learned plenty." She could see plenty too. As the storms of judgement and self-doubt began to evaporate from her mind, she saw some things she never did before as Adora raised back her claw with a menacing roar.

*swiff*

Adora blinked as if she had never seen this happen before. For one of the few times since their fight began, Catra dodged the overhead strike with ease. Not dramatically, not by putting a barrier of some sort between them, just... casually to her right. Without a care in the world.

"Like whose fault this is!"

*WHAM!*

"Ugh!" Adora groaned as she was decked in the jaw, taking several steps back as Aroda did the same. That wasn't like any of the previous strikes Adora had come to experience from her former friend, it actually hurt, like...

Like she wasn't holding anything back.

"I'm not the one who made you to stay in the Horde this whole time, Adora!" Catra shouted as she marched over to her, squeezing her hands into a fist. She still didn't trust herself, not even a little. But at the very least, she could trust her friends, and trust them to trust herself. Like when they told her she wasn't the one responsible for all of this!

Giving another growl, a pool of anger rose in Adora's chest at the statement. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn that sounded like Catra was actually blaming her for something that Catra was responsible for. Clearly, her friend hasn't learned her place, or learned to accept responsibility for her own actions.

And she was all too proud to correct her on the matter.

"Raaaaaaaah!" She screeched, charging for her friend again as she pulled back her claw. It was weird, to say the least.

Normally when Catra fought her, she fought her with her emotions in tact. The guilt that hung over her head blinded her to what was obvious, to what she should've been doing in the first place during all those fights with her. Here, without that guilt, she could actually see things better, from the destruction of the world Adora was causing to all the little movements in her charge.

Perhaps that's how she easily managed to avoid Adora's impaling arm as she swerved around it, wrapping her arms around it tightly as Adora flinched. "I'm not the one who made you drag an entire army all the way to Bright Moon!" With a mighty heave, Catra flung the girl through the air behind her, actually managing to toss her into one of the levitating landmasses with a loud crack as Adora's back slammed into it.

There was no telling how much damage it did, if any, given Adora's new state of being. All she knew as she fell back to the ground was that it definitely ticked her off.

The more she fought against her former friend, the more she fought against her guilt, the more she began to see passed everything else. She truly wasn't the one who told Adora to invade Bright Moon. She had nothing to do with the weather machine that froze the forest, and she NEVER would've planned or asked Adora to invade the very kingdom she's come to call home. That was all on Adora.

And so was everything else.

Refusing to be the odd one out of this part, Aroda smirked to the magicat wickedly as she stood between her and her enemy. Without so much as a flash, Aroda multiplied as she spread in a circle all around Catra ten feet away from her, spreading out even further as all the Aroda's multiplied from that into nearly five additional rows. There must've been at least a good fifty of them or so, all looking as threatening as the real Adora, wherever Aroda hid her in these multitude of illusions.

And she still didn't look the least bit concerned for some reason as she glared around.

"I didn't drive Frosta away from you," she yelled looking around, watching as the Arodas feinted charging at her as they passed through her with ease, "you did that on your own!" Somehow, through a means Aroda couldn't understand, Catra saw through the trick. As Adora was charging up from her left side, blending in all too well with the Arodas, Catra delivered a swift kick to the side of Adora's right face, knocking Adora and the Arodas who were connected to her off their feet and several feet away.

As Adora grumbled angrily at the sight of her rejectful friend, brushing off the small scrape on the side of her face, a twinge of worry crossed over Aroda's mind. S-Something's wrong! She yelled in her own mind.

How was she keeping up with her? How was she seeing past all the copies that mimicked Adora perfectly in every way? They had her look right down to a T, they mimicked her behavior and her voice flawlessly. So how was Catra making a comeback all of a sudden like this?! What happened to all the despair and anguish that was trapped in her heart just moments ago?!

Having more than her own fair share of irritation and rage, Adora yelled angrily as she swiped at the open air, creating another tear in the fabric of reality that closed quickly after she jumped through it. Here, the Arodas all sprang back to their feet, going back to their previous attempts at hampering the magicat's consciousness as Adora appeared from wherever she was going to strike.

"Do you wanna mess up again, little Miss Hero?"

"I ca't wait to see what you screw up next~"

"I wonder who will defeat the Rebellion in the end, Adora or you?"

"Maybe we should let you win to see how badly you screw up again!"

The verbal attacks of insults and mockery came to no end like they did before. They were savage, cruel, bitter, and downright distasteful as Catra gazed among the many Arodas. But no matter how badly they became, Catra's anger stayed the same as she kneeled down, collecting one of the many large rocks littering the ground, one of the few very same rocks Adora kicked off when she slipped a few minutes ago.

"I'm not the one who helped Shadow Weaver escape, and I had nothing to do with who she ran to!" Catra continued to acknowledge Adora's own faults despite the girl not being there, waiting and listening past all the mocking Arodas until Adora finally made her move. With her mind clearer than ever, she knew Adora couldn't afford to spend too much time between reality and the void without risking disappearing herself.

*SSKKTT*

Like she anticipated, her attack soon came to her from behind as Adora lunged for her, her anger reaching new limits as she was ready to end Catra's miserable existence for herself if it meant shutting her up. She didn't know where Catra was getting this newfound source of energy, this irrational display of putting the blame on Adora herself, and she wasn't going to let her have her way. She wasn't going to let Catra's selfishness prevail as she lunged at her. It was all exactly as Catra expected.

With the breeze of the rift opening behind her, with noen of the Arodas distracting her in the slightest, Catra finally counted. With a mere sidestep to the left, Catra threw her right arm over the air before wrapping it around Adora's elbow, keeping the girl locked in her grip as she wrestled it to the ground, pinning her own weight over it. Locked securely between the ground as her body, as Adora stared off dumbfounded, Catra raised the large stone with her other hand.

"I didn't make you kidnap me and steal the sword!"

*CRACK*

"GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Adora cried out with a bloodcurdling roar as she pulled her clawed hand back, Catra jumping away to her feet as her hardened gaze never left her expression.

All of them, all around her, Catra saw as all the Arodas were crying out in pain and agony as they clutched their hands simultaneously from the massive injury Catra just caused.

Catra shattered several of the claws stretching from her fingertips with a single strike of the rock. It wasn't so much painful on Adora's end as it was shocking. All at once, she watched in horror as half a gallon's worth of white energy, energy obtained through her merging with Aroda in this world, began to burst out of the broken stubs. All that energy, all that sweet, sweet, energy that allowed her to travel between tears in reality, were flowing from her broken pinkish claws like a fountain, until nothing more than a dried husk of greyness remained.

"Nooo, nooo, nooo!" Adora shouted angrily with fear. Immediately, she tried to form new tears in reality, hoping to herself that it was all in her head and that the energy didn't do what she thought it was responsible for. Sadly, fate proved to be unkind to the menacing monster she's become as nothing emanated from her attempted swipes. Not a scar, not a tear, not so much as a small cut.

Catra had broken the power from Adora's very own fingertips. And she made sure she had Adora's attention as she tossed one of the broken remnants of her claw right to Adora's feet.

"And I didn't make you pull the lever, Adora." Her scowl intensified as she squeezed her fist again. With another mighty growl, Adora burst towards her enemy as Aroda's illusions kicked in again.

From one to three. From three to nine. And nine to twenty-seven. The copies that came pouring out of Adora came one after the other as she attempted to catch the magicat off guard again, attempted to confuse her and mix her up, throwing herself two steps forward and one step back off and on to keep her from guessing her appearance and timing.

And still, it somehow proved to be pointless in the end to the magicat. Through means that neither of the two, Adora or Aroda, could comprehend, Catra saw through all of it as she waited a full seven seconds before swerving her arm in the air, catching Adora's real broken-clawed arm out of the hundreds that attempted to trick her through the chaos unfolding. It was here that Adora felt so much pressure being applied to Adora's arm, and all the hatred that came through it.

"You did!" Using her own momentum and Adora's own weight, Catra backrolled against the ground as she kicked Adora off of her, sending her flying nearly fifteen feet away from her as her back collided harshly against the ground. At the same time, many of the Arodas began to fall apart as Adora's mind simulated the pain between all of them, the copies of Aroda falling apart as Adora's energy continued to be used up.

"It was your choice, Adora. It was always your choice!" Gritting her teeth, Adora had just enough time to roll over onto her stomach to see Catra standing several feet away from her, a look of disappointment over her own face as she gazed at the frustrated Force Captain.

"I might not be the world's greatest hero, Adora," she admitted, "or the hero the Rebellion deserves." She still wished she could be. She wanted to be the one she could see as a shining beacon of hope, be the one she could see in a new light. But that's where her problems always came down to. It didn't matter to her anymore how she saw herself.

...

"You keep thinking that She-Ra and hero are the same, kitty." Razz said as she brought two hands to her front, gently clapping both of them together against each other. "Being a better She-Ra doesn't make you a better hero. You need to be a better you to be a better hero."

...

It mattered to her how her friends saw her.

And from there, her gaze hardened again as she glared. "But I'm more of a hero than you will ever be." Expectantly, Adora hissed as she seethed with anger at the remark, already jumping to her feet as she teared up with cries of frustration and rage. "I'm a part of the Rebellion. I'm She-Ra. And you-"

*whack!*

For one moment, Adora thought she had her again as her glowing arm punched Catra straight across the face, grinning victoriously for a battle that yet to be won. And just as quickly as it started, all that excitement, all that hopefulness, fell to pieces as Catra's head was already turning back, ignoring the small bruise on her cheek. She used the weight of her own body as she slid against Adora's arm, bringing a fist around on the other side as she took one step towards the girl, straight into Adora's face.

Her next two words were the last thing Adora ever heard.

"YOU'RE NOTHING!"

*wham*

*Wham!*

*WHAM!*

The air cracked with thunder as Catra delivered the powerful blow square between Adora's eyes, slamming the girl straight into the ground as her head collided with the hard earth beneath her feet, knocking her flat out. The girl showed no signs of energy or consciousness as she lied there before Catra, the warrior panting with exhaustion at the firefight she had just been pushed through. It was a harrowing experience, and one that she couldn't believe for herself as she stumbled backwards a bit, gazing at her own two hands as if she had pulled off a miracle.

Catra had just beaten Adora, for the first time Catra could consider it all on her own.

"I... I won...?" It didn't make any sense to her at the moment, surprising herself through the whole ordeal as she gazed back to her unconscious friend. Why did she win? How did she win? She's tried as hard as she always did before. Even if her injuries had recovered, it didn't make her any stronger in the process. She wanted to beat Adora, plain and simple. She had the same reasons as before for wanting to beat her, so what made it all different this time around?

... Or maybe... she didn't have as good a reason to win before? Previously, on a handful of occasions, she had only been trying to win for herself. Even if it was to win for one side or the other, it had always been for the sole purpose of wanting to defeat Adora out of personal pride, not because it was right or wrong around here.

This time, however, was different. She wasn't fighting for herself for a change, she wasn't trying to be any different than herself. She was trying to beat Adora for a sake that actually mattered to her, more than anything else within this entire world.

She was fighting to save her friends. The people who meant something to her.

*crackle*

Ears twitching at the crick, Catra bore witness as the earth in front of her began to break apart, as if the dying world itself was trying to consume Adora through all of this in vengeance. It was happening too much for Catra to respond to as the ground gave way, watching her fall into the void, a fate she deserved after all that's happened, one that wouldn't last for long after Catra saved everybody. In its own sense, Catra could say she defeated Adora once and for all in this world, and feel glad that she did.

Despite the sense of pride that came with it, there was also a bit of shame that did as Catra teared up a bit. She didn't just cut her ties with Adora from this point on, recognizing her as the true villain behind all of this. She tore those strings to shreds with her bare hands, and ripped them apart until there was nothing left.

She choked briefly as she collapsed to her knees a single tear being all she could muster for her fallen friend. She was no longer the person she recognized, no longer the same innocent person Catra knew she could never get back.

But she was going to miss her. Now and forever.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Running right through her for an instant, Catra watched as Aroda ran to the edge of the crackling ground, sliding to her feet as she reached in the direction Adora fell into, looking devastated beyond measure. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" She screeched with worry and panic, pulling at her own face in horror as she watched this.

This couldn't be happening. She couldn't accept that it was happening. It had to be a bad dream or a nightmare, the first ever that she's experienced. She was at the edge of it, had a whiff of the wonderful power that brought Catra back into existence, that had the power to shift the entirety of reality in one direction, and then wipe it out, all in one go. All Adora had to do was touch the blade, it was right at her fingertips! And what happened then?

CATRA HAPPENED! RIGHT AT THE LAST MOMENT SHE JUST HAD TO GET UP FROM OUT OF NOWHERE, RECOVER FROM HER INJURIES, BOTH PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL, AND KICK ADORA TO THE CURB! SHE SHOULD'VE JUST BEEN DISTRAUGHT FROM THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE, SHOULD'VE KEPT HER HEAD DOWN LIKE A GOOD LITTLE PET, AND SHE COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT FOR FIVE MORE SECONDS!

Shooting her head in every direction, she glared back at Catra with dismay. "You! You have to save her! Go get her or something!" She demanded more than begged.

Wiping the tear from her eye, Catra rose back to her feet. A heavy heart in her chest as she accepted the reality before her. "You're confusing me for one of her friends, Aroda." She scoffed. "Besides, I don't see why you don't just save her yourself."

"Idiot! I can't!" She revealed. "She's used up too much energy! And even then, I can't if she's unconscious!" With that, Aroda shot a look back, already feeling the effects of what was happening to Adora.

Adora was fading away, disappearing into a mass of light as parts of her disappeared much like Catra did.

"Noo..." And it began. From the tip of her own fingers, small cracks of red began to grow along Aroda's own body, slowly spreading and stretching from the edges of her very being. Confused for a moment, it was then that Catra remembered the details behind The Spell of Obtainment's existence.

Specifically, how to get rid of it.

...

"Which is what makes it a danger in the first place." Casta added. "Unless the host dies, the spell itself can only be destroyed or banished by magic, the very means that drew it into the world to begin with."

...

The parasite traveled to this new world through the use of technology, one by Entrapta's very own hand. Even if the timeline had been altered, and Adora never redonned the headband that started all of this, it still wasn't enough to be rid of the parasite itself, just like Casta said. The power of time was incapable of removing the parasite by force. And at the same time, through this entire feat, a means to remove the parasite from Adora had finally been presented to Catra.

Non-existence. A temporary death. A death that she couldn't even consider calling it knowing she was going to restore everything back to normal anyway. In this matter, Adora would cease to exist, and everything inside of her would disappear.

Including Aroda.

"This... this can't be happening..." Aroda panted and huffed as she stood up, legs trembling as they looked prepared to buckle at any given opportunity. She slow turned herself around, wobbling as she did, as Aroda's own existence continued to whither and dissipate, she mustered what little strength she could to stare back at Catra. "Y-You... It doesn't h-have to be like this..." She gulped. "W-We... We could work together!" Catra's eyes narrowed in disgust at the parasite's suggestion.

"Excuse me?"

"Y-Yes, I- I ... G-G-Go down there, and grab Adora's hand! The glowing part of her! Anything!" She smiled in a teethy nervous grin as her eye twitched, the glowing red spreading up to her elbows. "I-I'm sure something can... I-I bet I can transfer to you through the world's collapse! Or something! Just try it!"

"And why should I?" With a good spit, Catra began to walk away, as Aroda fumbled with her own words.

"B-Because we're the same!" She twitched with a smile as she saw Catra stop several feet from where she was. "I-I know what you're like! You think this is the first time we met?" Catra did have to admit, sghe was a little curious on the prospect. "I've seen you through Shadow Weaver for several years. Always wanting to prove yourself, to be stronger. That's what you did this all for, isn't it? To get stronger?"

Catra was rather surprised by this. With all that had happened within the last several days, or months to follow, she had completely forgotten about the one underlining detail. Aroda, the parasite, used to inhabit Shadow Weaver's body, making her the host to a source that could siphon energy from anything and everyone around her. Between the issue with her face she covered with a mask, and ability to draw power from the runestone through her magic, she had almost forgotten she parasite inhabited her to begin with.

It made Catra wonder, for a bit, just how much of herself the parasite actually knew about, how long it was watching Catra, Adora, and anyone else growing up in the Fright Zone.

"You can have that power if you help me! We can both survive this!" It continued to plead, actually forming beads of its own sweat as the red cracks had reached her shoulders and her chest. "What do you say?!"

"... What do I say?" Aroda watched hopefully as she saw Catra lift her head a bit, seeing the tip of her noes from the back of her head that was still facing her. "... I say you're wrong." Aroda blinked. "You're wrong about me." Turning her head back to her, Aroda could see the hatred in her seething eyes, a hatred that was once directed on Adora, now doubled upon Aroda.

"I didn't want power to make myself stronger, not anymore. I just wanted the power to keep my friends safe. That's all it's ever been about. I don't care about having She-Ra's power directly. Whether it's She-Ra's power or some other power, all I wanted to do with it was to be able to keep my friends safe. Nothing more, nothing less."

"B-Bu... But..." Aroda nearly fell to her knees at this, already feeling the time for talk was past them. Even if she did agree to it, there wouldn't be any chance of her reaching Adora from this point. It was hopeless. "T... Then... You have to tell me. How?" Catra barely had a sense of care left in her to give after today as she raised a brow.

"How what?"

"How... did you know?" Shadowy mists began to emanate from the girl as Adora's end had drawn closer and closer to the parasite by the second. "How did you see through the illusion?" She was going to die, to perish. That much she was sure of at this very moment. At the very least, the one thing Catra could do, was explain to her, how.

How in Etheria did she see past Aroda's illusions?

"What? Is that all?" A small, smug, grin crossed Catra's lips a little bit as she maintained the look of resentment on her face. "There were two big things that I noticed when I finally came to my senses. First off, you were a terrible actor. You had every detail down to the right detail when you mimicked Adora, but you couldn't copy that look in her eye."

...

She was nothing to her, Adora realized that now. And Catra was dead to Adora in turn.

"Goodbye, Catra." With that final utterance, Adora walked her way into the light, refusing to look back as Catra raised a clawed hand for her.

...

Even now, it continued to haunt her, like a nightmare every time she closed her eyes. That look that told her she wanted nothing more to do with her, a look that took everything Catra had to finally move on from. Despite all that's happened, despite the care she lost for her former friend from this point, she never would've, nor ever will, get that image out of her mind.

"Adora always had this spark in her eye, one that she could never get rid of when she glared at me. You? You had nothing of the sort."

Aroda held back the urge to growl as she twitched, gritting her teeth through sheer force of will. Of course, someone like this stupid, STUPID, ANIMAL, just had to, just HAD TO HAVE SOME FORM OF CONNECTION WITH SOMEONE SHE HATED! She was no longer her friend, plain and simple, and the damage from her past could no longer be restored. Possibly, undeniably, but Catra could no longer forsake the rest of her world on uncertainty.

She had to move forward.

"And... the second thing..." Aroda hissed, taking a step forward. She needed to know where she went wrong, what she did to mess things up so badly to the point where Catra could see through her deception.

"Honestly?" A smirk almost crossed Catra's lips again which she shook off. "Your feet gave it away."

"... Huh?" Aroda tilted her head in confusion as she looked down. What about her feet? There was nothing out of place about them. She wore the same boots Adora did, the same leather woolen pants, the same everything. She stared for what felt like hours in a matter of seconds, analyzing every detail about her new look, and she didn't notice anything underneath her fe-

... Her feet... Underneath... Oh no...

Catra continued to grimace as she stared at the living illusion, resisting the urge to grin ever so slightly to the sight of Aroda's face slowly expanding with terror. Out of all her preparations, all of her necessities every little detail that she insisted and made sure would play out perfectly, there was one, JUST ONE thing she neglected to assure of herself, something that brought about her ultimate end.

She didn't have a shadow.

With all the time she spent being seen by Adora on a daily basis, all the interactions and whatnot she displayed around her, not once did Aroda ever bother to manifest a shadow of her own. And why would she? She was a living figment of someone else's head, someone who saw her and only her, day in and day out, and nobody else. It was easy passing off her shadow left and right in the Fright Zone, that was thanks to the shadowy manipulations she had at her disposal, due to Adora's shadow magic.

Here? In this reality? She never obtained that power. She never maintained the same shadow magic in this world, one that let Aroda conjure up shadows for herself without even thinking about it. That lack of thought kept her from remembering the shadows around herself, kept her from paying attention to her own surroundings, as she was too stuck up on putting Catra down as far as she could.

Her own senseless pride became her ultimate downfall.

"T... Tha..." Aroda was beside herself with fury incarnate as her shadowy blood boiled. "That doesn't matter!" A sneer grew over Aroda's lips as she cackled, trying to maintain whatever form of dignity she had left. "Y-You think I'm scared? Of death!? Without using magic, I can't die! When Adora's dead, I'll simply return to my plane of existence, biding my time until some other fool summons me again!" The parasite grew a hearty laugh at the reality of the situation.

This was nothing new to her, not in the long run. Some fool summoned her, couldn't control her powers right, and resulted in her host dying and sending the parasite back right down to the plane of magic, a realm where creatures like her were called forth. Within the sacred place, time flowed differently. Sometimes a minute there was a year in the real world, sometime a decade within that realm was only half a second in the real world. It was always inconsistent and always shaky.

But it was always moving forward. If it took her a minute, an hour, a year, a century, she didn't care. Some day, she would be back from that sacred realm, and when she was, she was going to do everything in her power to make sure Catra and her idiots paid, and if not, then their descendants certainly would!

"...You know," Catra continued, resting a hand at her hip, "looking back on it here, the fact that you lost shouldn't be the biggest thing that concerns you." Aroda's confusion took the better of her as she listened intently to the magicat. "Because the way I see it, if you have anything close to some spirit or form after this, there'll be nothing left for you in this world. When Adora disappears, and everyone goes back, you'll be stuck here in limbo, forever."

"Ah-!" Aroda's false heart froze solid at the revelation.

She was right.

Without someone else to perform the spell, nobody could re-summon Aroda from the magical plane of existence once she faded. A spell that only a select few knew of, such as Shadow Weaver herself. When she disappeared, she wouldn't just return to an astral plane of magic once more, she would return to a plane of nothingness, almost an entire world of nothingness inside of this realm of even more nothingness!

Nobody could remake this world to being exactly the way it was. Nobody could restore this world itself back to the false reality that created it. She wouldn't just be locked between worlds. She would be locked between a world between a world connected to another world. She would be trapped there for all eternity, with no way out.

And Catra couldn't think of a better punishment for one who drove her former friend to madness.

"No..."

*crick*

And it was with that last sound of cracking, a sound of a solid line breaking over glass, that her final end came about.

"Enjoy oblivion, Aroda." Those were Catra's final words as she stood there to watch.

All around her, Aroda began to panic with despair as the cracks around herself, including the ones that formed over her fake clothing, began to fall apart. A piece at a time, like barks of the tree splintering off of a tree, the parasite watched with horror as chunks of her own body began to break apart, disintegrating from the edges of her limb, slowly climbing towards the parasite's head as she let out a blood-curdling scream.

"AAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Her face contorted and twisted left and right as its form broke apart, revealing to Catra the terrible form of the parasite itself, the form it once dawned before all of this.

It truly was an amalgamation of pure magic as it became a living essence of darkness. All around it, its body began to blacken as it's body slowly disintegrated, multiple eyes of pure red with black slits forming all along its cloud-like body. It feared its end now more than ever for the first time in its life, knowing the eternity of nothingness that had awaited it, what Catra felt was justly deserved for one who wanted to destroy the world just to obtain power.

For a moment, it almost made her fearful about how much she represented everything the parasite once was. How she was consumed with getting more power for herself at the expense of those around her, and how she almost ruined the world itself with what little responsibility she had behind all of this. There was just one big difference between her and the parasite at this very moment.

She had friends right beside her all this time.

"GGAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The parasite screamed in agony as it expanded, almost looking like a cloud as the rest of its smoke-like body finally began to disintegrate too. Like it did originally in its fake body, from the tips of its appearance, the smoke-like haze began to disintegrate into a red minst. Seeping, spewing, burning with every fiber of its being.

At the end, all that remained was a single eye of the dozens that had formed around it, looking away in fear frantically in all directions. The very last thing it saw was Catra's scowl, a sense of true hatred burning within the magicat for all it has done, and it would be the last face it ever saw. With one last cry of fear, without anything left in this world, the eye finally shriveled up in a small explosion of redness, one that scattered across every direction of the world.

Aroda, was finally destroyed.

And so was Adora, however brief it may be.

*Ka-Rumble*

"Huh?" Catra barely had the time to register the ground shaking before she gaped in terror. All around her, spreading across the floor like a wildfire, were hundreds of large cracks forming along the surface of the ground beneath her feet. It wasn't just a few feet or a dozen feet around her. As if by Aroda's last wish and will, nearly everything, everywhere, she was standing on was beginning to crumble, the cracks pooling to every corner of the landmass around her.

She couldn't take more than two feet from where she stood before the ground came tumbling to pieces, and her along with it.

"Ahh!" She screamed in terror as she fell into the oblivion that awaited her, watching as over dirt and debris fell from above her as the whole ground she was standing on corroded and erased away. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she continued to fall, staring off in disbelief as the ground, the sword drew away from her as the nothingness consumed her. No... Even in her mind, her voice sounded like an echo, a distant cry as she looked down at her own two hands.

She was fading away. She was disappearing. It wasn't like before when she was disappearing a little at a time, oh no. Here, she saw her entirety beginning to fade from existence from being within the void itself, a detail she observed the first time Adora dragged her through it. As scared as she was at the sight of disappearing again, nothing surmounted to the dread she was feeling as she squeezed her watery eyes, knowing there was no saving her, or her friends for that matter.

I'm sorry guys... She tried so hard, did what she could never accomplish before on her own, and still lost. The victory she finally claimed over Adora for the first time did nothing to quell the anguish she was feeling, the reality that she would never see her friends again, or anybody that she cared about. All the people she let down, all the people she didn't know and didn't know her who needed her to save them, it was a horrible experience.

She just wished she had one last chance to make things right.

"Catraaaaaa!" Even now, as she hugged herself, she could've sworn she heard someone's voice. No doubt it was her cruel consciousness playing tricks on her- "Catraaaaaaa!" The voice shouted again, snapping Catra's eyes open. It definitely wasn't in her head.

Shooting her view around in every direction, her eyes widened as she gasped looking right above her. There, she saw the person that was once her mother in this fake reality, the person who cared for her like her very own daughter. Queen Angella had arrived in the nick of time, providing the miracle that Catra desperately needed.

"Angella...?" She muttered, still slightly skeptical if her eyes were playing tricks on her or not.

It took the sweet embrace of the Queen's arms around her to realize it was real, and the soaring through the voidless air to acknowledge that she was saved.

...

"Huff... Huff..." Catra panted a little out of breath as she pushed her hands against her knees, standing before the Queen. She didn't know she was holding her breath at this point until her feet collided with the solid ground of another large landmass, securing her safety. And the whole time, the Queen never released her gentle grip from her shoulders as she stood before her.

"I remember, Catra. I remember everything." She said, worry and concern crossing her face over the troubled girl. "I know this isn't our world anymore, none of it is." She brought Catra to attention softly as she scanned the feline's face. "How do we fix this?" Catra said nothing as she stared, a stare that caught the Queen's attention as she looked back into the sky, seeing the very thing that started all of this.

The Sword of Protection. A mystical blade crafted by the First Ones.

The energies it was unleashing continued to run rampant as the vortex swirled above it, slowly growing in mass and in strength as the world around it continued to crumble. From what was just a few pieces of solid earth and boulders now practically looked like an asteroid belt in comparison, with thousands of large rock embedded in the air that swirled in an endless ring of despair, and more as the world continued to crumble.

Despite her never being destined, never being chosen, Catra could still feel the connection with the sword as it rang within her soul. All of her mistakes, all of her past began with this very sword. A sword that was meant for someone truly worthy of it. If she never found the sword from the beginning, if she never touched the sword that set her on a journey of personal discovery, she didn't know who or what she would've turned into.

And a part of her feared it.

All the same, the memory of how it all started, the fact that it was the blade that began all of this, sung within Catra's ears as she stepped forth, walking passed the Queen as her trance-like state focused entirely on the mystical wonder. "Go back to the beginning..." Catra muttered, catching the Queen's ear. "Razz... wasn't talking about me. She was talking about Adora!" Somehow, she didn't feel a sense of jealousy anymore over the fact. The fact this wasn't her sword, the fact this wasn't her destiny, and the fact she was never meant to be She-Ra.

"To the place where she came through as a baby..." Squeezing her fists, Catra's ears subconsciously lowered as the girl tilted her head a little, keeping her expression from the Queen's prying curiosity. "I know what I have to do. I need to go into the portal and pull out the sword. It'll shut down the portal and return everybody who disappeared! Then... everything will go back to normal."

"And you'll come back too, right?" Angella asked. The silence within the air struck the cords of Angella's nerves as she noticed Catra's mute voice. The lack of reaction, the heaviness in her stance. Something was telling her she wouldn't enjoy the answer. "Catra," she spoke up, walking to the girl's back, "you will return with us too, right?" Again, another brief wave of silence followed before she answered.

"... Heh, of course I will!" She smiled back, extremely casual and innocent as she did. "Then we can all go back home and, you know... you can ground me for a year or whatever for almost destroying the world."

"Ground... you?" She has never heard Catra, much less anyone, take the idea of grounding as something to be relieved about. On top of that, the cheerful smile in Catra's eyes, and her lips, was... unwelcomed, for a change. A sight that harbored a greater turmoil than Catra was trying to let on.

"Y-Yeah, for as long as you want!" She chuckled as she began to walk away from the Queen. "Man, I can't wait to see the talking to I'll get when this is over-"

"Catra!" The Queen gripped the girl's shoulder firmly, knowing something was amiss. "... I want you to turn around, and look me in the eye, and tell me you will return with everyone else." The Queen wanted her to, oh so badly. She wanted this nightmare world to be brought to an end, to embrace her daughter and her friends in her arms in the Kingdom of Bright Moon once more! All she needed was for Catra to tell her what she wanted, and she would let her go.

But Catra couldn't answer. "Catra? Please, just turn around and tell me you'll be coming home." She wanted to. She wanted to shout about how she was returning to the kingdom she's called home, how everything would be all right. All she had to do was turn around for her, look her in the eye, and lie to her, like hundreds of other times she's done it. Then, she could finally be free to make her decision.

And yet, mo matter how badly she wanted to, for the first time in her life, she couldn't bring herself to lie to the Queen, not for the last time she would ever be seeing her. "... I..." She finally gazed back to the Queen, as she wanted... only she couldn't look her in the eye. She couldn't bring herself to smile for a change despite having done so a thousand times before. "Who... Whoever pulls the sword won't... They'll be trapped on the other side, in-between the gateway... forever." The Queen gasped silently at the revelation as she released her hold from her shoulder.

This had to be some sort of sick joke, right? One of Catra's hilariously-awful pranks? She was sure of it. She was going to say "Ha! Fooled you!" or something any second now and tell the Queen that she didn't really mean it, that her twisted sense of humor just came up with it on the spot. For once in the Queen's immortal life since Catra came to Bright Moon, she wanted to hear nothing more than those exact words.

"For... ever?" The Queen's eyes softened as sadness took over. She glanced to the roaring sky above her as the blade continued to pulsate with energy, the vortex growing more and more violent by the second. Who knew what would be on the other side, if there was anything, or if anyone would be able to return?

Catra knew. She knew from Entrapta that this would be a one-way trip for one person, and everyone else would return home safe and sound. There, they could go back to their boring war-filled life that never seemed to end, and go about their day like nothing was out of the ordinary.

Save for one individual who would never be at their side.

"Catra-"

"Don't!" Catra sputtered as she squeezed her fists again, turning her back on the Queen as she stepped away. "Don't say... anything. Alright? I," she stared into the swirling sky once more, "I have to do this."

"You have to?" The Queen wondered, questioning if she meant she literally have to or personally did.

"Yes, I have to! All of this started the day I stole Adora's destiny from her, all that's happened since then has been my fault. I never should've become She-Ra, I never should've joined the Rebellion, I never should've done anything! And now the world's falling apart, Glimmer and Bow are gone, along with the rest of the world, and I... It's not about feeling guilty, anymore. I have to make things right."

"But why? Why do you have to make things right, Catra? There has to be another way."

"Because that's what I wished for!" She stated, holding back a tear as she gritted her teeth. "I wished for the one thing I always wanted. To be She-Ra, to be a hero of the Rebellion. I wanted to be the person who could never lose as long as she didn't give up, and now," still shaking a bit, she gave a sweetened sad-filled smile to Her Majesty as she approached, "now I finally have a chance to make it right. To make everything right, like I wanted."

"To make everything right?" Angella was rather shocked to hear all of this. Not for the information she put down, not for the knowledge that it was her wish to finally be the She-Ra she always wanted to be, but for the very words that were coming out of the individual in front of her. "Catra, are... Are you saying that you would willingly sacrifice your own life, just to save ours?"

Catra didn't say as pain filled her eyes. Still keeping her ears down, never showing a single sign of happiness or relief, Catra hung her head low. There, she stared gazingly at the grass beneath her feet, the sight of Angella's footwear. If she was going to disappear for the rest of eternity, if she was never going to see any of the people she cared about again, then she wanted to take in their appearance, to remember what everyone looked like, one last time.

"... P... Pft... Hahahahahaha!" For the first time in history, the Queen did something that Catra had never seen before in such a dire situation; she laughed. Covering her mouth with one hand and covering her stomach with the other, closing her eyes softly as Catra's expression twisted to confusion, she laughed.

"W-What's so funny?!" Seriously, she was about to disappear here! The least she could do is let her in on whatever joke she thought up!

"I-I'm- Tch, hahahaha!" Angella swiped a tear from her eye with her thumb as she relaxed. "Forgive me, Catra, it's just, heh... When I look at you, as your ally, I can't even recognize the girl who barged into the Throne Room all those months ago, demanding a kingdom in exchange for their assistance." At this, Catra blushed a little as she turned her head away. So the Queen wanted to get a bit of embarrassment out of her? Fine. The least she could do was make it quick for her.

Then, the Queen gently touched Catra's chin with her soft thumb and finger, nudging the girl's head in her direction where Catra could see a pride-filled sense of warm emanating from her. "And, as a mother," she brushed a few bangs out of Catra's eyes, "I can not begin to tell you how proud I would have been, this day, to have called you my daughter." All at once, everything made sense to Catra as she froze, reliving the memory she had many hours ago.

...

"But... That's..." Catra turned away from the girl as she rubbed the side of her neck against the palm of her right hand. "That doesn't make any sense. That couldn't be the reason behind all of this."

"Why not?"

"Because if..." She wrapped a tail around her waist as she crossed her arms. "Because if this place really grants everyone's wishes, then I'm not the one who wished to have a family."

"You didn't?"

"No. I mean, after having one for the first time, then yeah. I... actually wouldn't mind having a family again after this." She admitted as the two continued down the path. "But I didn't even know what it was like to have a family up to this point, so I couldn't have wished for it myself."

"Then how or why did you end up living as a Princess?"

"I don't... I don't know. I just know that I didn't wish for it-"

...

And, coming out of her memory-filled haze, Catra could see the familiar sense of warmth in Angella's eyes.

The warmth of a mother.

"It... It was you." She muttered softly. "You were the one who wished that... that I could be a part of your family?" The Queen's smile confirmed this as she continued stroking Catra's cheek, the magicat unaware as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I told you, I remember everything." She nodded. "My wish wasn't for you to join mine, my wish was for you to experience what it would have been like to live with a family, one who would love you as one of their own... I just turned out to be lucky that it was ours." Catra didn't know... anything. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know how to respond. All she knew was that the Queen embraced her lovingly in a hug, resting her head over the taller woman's shoulder as her eyes watered.

"You've suffered so much, experienced so many hardships. Just for once, I wished for you to experience what it was like. To know what it felt like to love another and be loved for in turn. To have a mother that could tuck you in every night, a father who would protect you every day, and a sibling who would look up to you, no matter how much older or younger you were. And I hope it was everything you could've wanted."

"...W-Why..." Catra choked. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Catra," Angella went on as she pulled her away a little, still smiling with pride as her own eyes watered, "you were the best thing to ever happen. To all of us." She... She was aching right now. Hearing every word coming from Angella, every word of praise that she's always wanted to hear from someone, it was... horrible. She felt the comfort she longed for through all of it, the memories of what it was like to be part of a family.

All she didn't know was whether or not she could still push herself to pull away from it all now.

"Catra-"

"S-Stop!" Catra choked again as she feebly tried to push the Queen away. It was nothing more than a child throwing a small tantrum to the Queen's eyes as she gently grasped Catra's waving wrists. "Just stop! I don't..." She couldn't contain the tears as they streamed from her face, especially as Angella embraced her again, resting her head softly against her chest as she caressed Catra's head. "Why are you telling me all of... all of this!? I have a job to do, remember?"

"Because it's true." Angella deemed, resting her chin against her head as she closed her eyes. "You've done so much for the Rebellion, so much more than you could possibly know." Her smile continued as she opened her eyes a little.

"You've become an inspiration to everyone around you. You've lead us to so many victories when all seemed impossible. And you've reminded me what it means to be brave, Catra." The Queen stroked her mane as Catra cried silently into her chest. "You were the best thing to happen to everyone. The best thing to happen to the Rebellion, the best thing to happen to my daughter and her friends, and the best thing that happened to me. The Rebellion has need for people like you, Catra. It always has. And there's nothing I could do to ever pay you back."

"Ghh..." Catra couldn't even get the words to come out of her mouth anymore. Trying to push the Queen away from her only made Catra's hands pull her in tighter as she through them around her chest, unable to bare hearing these words for the final time.

Angella meant every word of it, too. Never has the Rebellion had anyone more obnoxious, more cynical, more selfish, than someone like Catra. Nor, did they ever have someone with so much pain in their past, so much history to their character, and someone who was a lonely child behind the rough exterior they made themselves out to be.

When she first joined the Rebellion, Angella didn't know what to make of her. To make of someone who wanted a kingdom for herself, simply to find out it so she wouldn't be alone. Someone who pushed through everything with all their might because of fear of being seen as a failure. Someone who relished a mere amount of praise because they never knew what it could feel like. Someone who was torn to shreds on the inside after being forced to throw their life away, who cried loudly into everyone's arms after the Battle of Bright Moon.

Catra truly was the best thing a Queen, and a mother, could ever ask for.

Looking up to the vortex again, the queen lowered her gaze more firmly as she saw the sword that would end it all.

"And that's why... I can't let you do this." Catra's eyes shot open at the announcement. By the time she managed to turn her head in her direction, it was already too late.

Angella flew off.

*Swoosh!*

"Wha-?" For a moment, Catra was confused. With all the emotions she had running through her mind, she had almost forgotten everything that was about to happen, and realized everything that was going to happen next. "No- NOOO!" Shouting, Catra quickly searched around before running towards the closest piece of land that was being pulled up to the vortex.

"So I will be watching you, got it? And if you do anything do anything to betray that trust, raise suspicion, cause doubt, or even disappoint her in any way," it was like staring into a black void as Catra was forced to look into her eyes, "I will make whatever nightmare you fear most look like paradise compared to what I will do to you. Are we clear!?"

"Y-Yesh mam." She muttered through her puckered lips.

She was crazy, insane. The tears quickly dried up from her eyes as she realized the terrible truth of this situation. Angella, the Queen and leader of the Rebellion, was going to sacrifice herself, all for Catra's sake. Never has the feline met someone as crazy as she has now. For Her Majesty's sake, she prayed she would be the last.

"Why are there claw marks all over the hallways?!" As if on queue, the three looked passed Catra in the direction of the Queen's voice, the forcefulness and anger of it already sending chills across Catra's body. So now she found herself with all of the above concerns involving Glimmer's mother, including another thing her mother could get angry about, like the claw marks Catra made when she was forcefully dragged through half the castle. "Catraaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Angella, stop!" Catra shouted, running to the edge of the landmass as it tilted before using her cat-like agility to leap to the next piece of land leading up to the vortex. She had to stop her no matter what. This was supposed to be Catra's fate, not hers! She had an entire life waiting for her back in Bright Moon. A daughter, an army, people who needed her to continue to lead them. And she refused to let anyone else make a choice for her again.

One where the plan was to let Catra be Catra, at that.

"I should've never let her leave this castle." Angella spoke, pushing her eyes into her hands as she rested her elbows on the table. "Not with you."

Ok, that was painful.

Seeing the magicat that was surprisingly keeping up with the winged woman, using the various pieces of land floating upwards towards the sword of destiny, she felt remorse. "I'm sorry, Catra." With the wave of her hand, the Queen blasted a beam of energy at the next platform the magicat was aiming for, shattering it to pieces before Catra could touch it, falling straight through the cloud of dust as she fell a short distance lower, grabbing onto the next nearest piece of land she could reach.

"You." The Queen casually made her way over to the nervous Catra as her ears lowered.

"Oh, great, here it comes." Catra mumbled. "All right, get it out of your system. "Oh, how I endangered your daughter", "oh I was being reckless", what was I thinki-!" Well... that was a new tactic. She wasn't given a hard scolding like she expected, she wasn't given thirty lashes for endangering the rest of the Princess Alliance, yet, and she wasn't berated about everything she did wrong.

The Queen, who appeared to have it out for Catra since day one, was hugging her. Not once in her life had she ever been hugged this tightly by a mother, much less one who squeezed her face against her like she did Glimmer.

Her claws barely skimmed the surface of the platform as she gripped it, pulling herself up with all of her might and in haste. She couldn't understand it. Why was Angella doing this for her? She wasn't her real mother, she wasn't anything to Catra, so there shouldn't be any reason for her to do this at all! Catra hated her, she always hated her! So she could be going back down to leave Catra to her fate!

"You... actually want me at dinner tonight?"

"Why, yes." The queen nodded clapping her hands together. "And Bow too, of course. I feel like I haven't been giving you a fair chance since we met, and after saving my daughter and her friend, I felt like this would be a good chance to get to know each other better. I'd also like to know what your preference is for dinner tonight, so I can make sure the chefs prepare everyone's favorites."

"That... uh... does sound pretty good..."

Shooting her head back, she found that the Queen's attempts to foil her may have been a blessing in disguise as she saw another large mount of rock approaching her. From the pathway it was traveling, it was leading up to a straight and narrow path that lead closer to the vortex. Scrambling to her feet, Catra dashed as fast as she could as the world continued to crumble.

The Queen was unwilling to sit idly by as the scene took place in front of her, seeing everything from the ledge of the chamber as she overlooked the entire valley. Flapping her wings gently to the ground, she made her way over to the beloved trio of friends as she took her place right alongside the rest of them. Glimmer shot her a brief look of sadness before the Queen embraced the three of them in a warm hug that only a mother could provide, doing her best to drown out the noise of the saddening cries as she wrapped her wings around all three of them.

"You have a family back home, don't do this!" Catra continued to plead as she pushed herself to her limits, running as fast as her legs could carry her. When she nearly tumbled at one point, she didn't bother stopping to catch her balance. She ran a short way on all fours with swift leaps across the surface before reaching the next elevation.

"Why are you of all people defending her? You should be just as angry as I am! Don't you get it? We could've died on that mission, Pinky could've died on that mission! Doesn't that mean anything to you? Because for someone who claims to be a "loving mother", you really don't seem to care about what happens to your own daughter-!"

"CATRA!" The Queen's anger as she rose from her seat, winged spread in fold, was enough to shake everyone, even Catra herself as her ears lowered. "Go to your room. Now."

Catra couldn't understand. The Queen knew that with all of her heart as tears rolled from her cheek, seeing the girl pushing herself as far as she could as Angella was nearly there. Angella DID intend to protect her family, her whole family. And that included the very daughter she had for nearly a day, yet an entire lifetime of memories before it. Even without them, Catra was no less important than the rest of the people in Bright Moon, and it was a Queen's duty to protect her people.

"Yes, sheesh, all right already!" She could've been to the Beacon by now with Swift Wind after all the time she wasted. She didn't give the Queen so much as a nod or wave as she immediately turned tail, casually slipping her hands in her pockets as she went off to collect her steed. "You're not my stupid mother."

Once more, the Queen sighed. "Sometimes I count that among my blessings..."

She owed it to Catra for giving her the courage to do so.

Reaching the end of the large pathway of floating rocks, Catra began to panic. There was nothing left between her and the sword, which was probably at least twenty feet away, and fifteen feet above her. While she could potentially reach the sword by shooting straight up, she would never make the jump herself from this angle. She needed something to jump towards and onto before making her next great leap, all while worrying as the Queen neared the blade herself.

That's when Catra realized- someone could work just as well.

"I want to make a deal with you." She was a queen second, and a mother first. And if she couldn't appeal to Catra in one way, then she would attempt to in another, one that played on Catra's fascination with deals. "I'll tell you what- I promise to stop bugging you about your past, about your life, about your days, and I promise to stop giving you direct orders as your Queen, if you can do just one thing for me from now on."

"Yeah, like what?" She groaned knowing it was going to be something stupid. Probably like forcing her to forgive someone, aka Frosta, maybe be nicer around here, which, lets face it, was a total waste of a wish and would never happen, and above all, she would probably ask her to be respectful towards everyone and everything for the rest of her life.

*swiff*

*thomp*

"Agh!" The Queen yelped from a mix of fright and surprise as she was suddenly jumped. With all the power in her feet, Catra shot herself directly at the Queen herself, grasping onto the center of her back before kicking off her royal highness with her own two feet, jumping straight for the sword. "Catra, no!"

Catra reached as she neared the sacred blade, lamenting everything that she would be leaving behind. She was going to save everyone, be the She-Ra she always wished to be in spirit, not in appearance. For once in her life, she was going to make a choice that she knew she could never regret, knew there could be no downsides to.

She almost wanted to see how stupid it was going to be.

"I want you to realize that you are no longer in the Fright Zone. You're somewhere safe." ...Ok, there wasn't much stupid in that she could find. But she was willing to bet it was going to get worse! And it did... as she turned Catra around, lowered down to her height, and smiled warmly in her eyes as she stroked Catra's cheek. "And to remember, that within Bright Moon, you're surrounded by people who love you. People who look up to you to forgive them as they forgive you Can you promise me that?"

So what if she disappeared, and She-Ra along with it? The Rebellion was surely going to win at any rate. There was no way Adora would get the best over her dear friends, no chance of her possibly catching them off guard again without her around. Her two friends were going to continue uniting the Princess Alliance, continue winning the war against Hordak and his army, and she knew they were going to win in the end.

She shifted her eyes away as she gently grabbed Angella's hand, pulling her hand away softly as she tried to find something to say. "U-Um... I-"

"Ah." Angella wouldn't let her respond as she put a finger to her lip. "You have no need to tell me. Instead, I want your actions to speak for them. If you promise to think of everyone in the Rebellion with an open mind, then come sit by me for a short while longer and watch the sky. If not, you may leave of your own volition, and it'll be the last we ever discuss this." With her decree, Angella walked her way back to the center of the roof's ledge, gazing at the stars as she anxiously waited for a response.

She smiled a bit to herself at the thought as another tear rolled down her face. Her one regret was the fact she wasn't going to get to see it for herself, but she knew it would've been worth it. One live to save an entire world, who wouldn't wish for a greater chance to be a hero like that? It seemed like a pretty good deal in Catra's book as long as she was chosen. Her one mistake was her entire past. Now, she was going to fix it for her entire future.

By giving the world one to fight for as she reached for the sword.

*swiff*

And missed it by a mere inch as she came to a stop. Time seemed to slow down for her as gravity took charge over the magicat's fate, and began to slowly pull the feline back to the world below. Her heart felt hollow as she stared, unable to comprehend the fact that she just missed by one entire inch, or the fact that the Queen passed her by immediately after, giving her a soft warming smile again as Catra began to fall back.

She had failed.

Glimmer and Catra weakly chuckled at the last note. What even was a butterfly cake? Soon, their minds begin to slowly sag, and their eyes closed shut. Angella smiled at her little angels. She reached over and kissed Glimmer on her forehand, stroking her cheek. Angella then turned to Catra. Suddenly, Catra sprung up from her spot and wrapped her tiny arms around Angella's neck in embrace.

"I love you Mommy." Catra quietly muttered in the Queen's ear.

Angella paused, letting the moment sink in. She put a soft gloved hand behind Catra's back.

"...I love you too, Catra." She whispered.

"ANGELLA!" Catra cried out in scream as the essence of time returned to her, feeling herself falling again for several seconds before slamming into a slab of soft-covered dirt.

With Catra out of the way, Her Majesty rose through the vortex as she gazed upon the sword. This sword was the cause of everything right and wrong in this world. It nearly brought the end of the world, and it brought a lone girl who never experienced what it was like to be a part of the family. It was the best of both sides and worst of both sides.

And now, she had a chance to do what was right for the very first time.

With both her hands, she grasped the magnificent blade with all her might, groaning to herself as she shook off the pain that shot forth. Still radiating with a surge of energy, electricity coursed through the Queen's body as she grunted, pulling the powerful blade with all of her strength.

It hurt, suffice to say. It hurt a lot. If she failed to pull this thing out, all of Etheria, possibly the entire universe, would've been wiped out of existence. Before, she was a Queen who stood behind a Rebellion in fear, one who would let her daughter do the work, while regretting the fact she could never hope to be as brave enough as her husband, Micah. That's why, when she looked back down, she saw someone standing with tears and shock in their eyes that gave her the strength to push forward, like many times before.

Catra.

"Take good care of each other." This was Angella's Parting Wish.

The Queen wished for Catra to promise as she finally focused. With all the power her immortal body would call forth, every strength in her wings pushing her away from the sword, Angella finally managed to preform the miracle needed to save the world.

In a glorious bout of light, the sword was removed.

Catra shielded her eyes with her arm and closed them, feeling the blinding light pushing through her very eyelids themselves. When she felt the wave of light pass over them, she finally gave the world a small peek, looking over everything that ever was, and everything that had yet to be erased by the portal destroying Etheria. That's when she saw it.

The Sword of Protection. The blade she was destined to stand with to this very day. It glowed with a blue, wondrous light as energy continued to blossom within the blade, all while the vortex, the void that had encased Etheria, ceased to be.

Including Angella.

The sword descended from the air as Catra watched. It felt like so long since the magicat saw the beloved blade she wanted everything to do with. Grasping it in her hands again as the light finally faded, she wanted nothing more than to trade it all back again to bring Her Majesty back from her eternal sacrifice.

Angella was gone. Her eyes watered as she wiped away the tears. She had made the ultimate sacrifice so that Catra wouldn't have to. She was done living in the past. Perhaps that's the only reason she had the energy left to continue standing, unwilling to drop to her knees and cry in despair like before. She needed to move on for everyone's sake to bring them back, the way Angella would've wanted.

But she was still going to miss her.

"..." Looking at the sword again, Catra's face hardened with anger. It all started with the very words she used to transform into She-Ra. Raising her sword into the air, she knew it was time to bring it all back, all while the tears never came to an end.

"FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!"

Surrounded by a seas of beautiful stars and a bluish galaxy, Catra rose herself from her as her body glowed with a beautiful blue light, one that had seen the cosmos since the dawn of time, and had met with the night's sky on a regular basis. With her eyes close and a calmness in her expression, Catra continued to float in place as a gargantuan sword, one that made her look like the size of an ant in comparison, rose behind her.

With the energy that gathered, the sword slowly started to pass through Catra, all while an array of flashing lights started to pull towards the girl, enveloping her in a glorious display of light and beauty. Catra could feel the wondrous energy fill her entire body as the sword slowly pushed into her, eventually phasing passed her as the rest of her glorious creation had come to be.

Starting with the back, a serene crimson-colored cape started to flow forth, gliding along her back in a fluid motion as the rest of her body followed in her transformation. The cape sparkled in a dazzling array of light as the small anchors of light finally pulled from it, allowing the cape to stretch across half of her back, connected to the armor that continued to materialize around her.

Both her shoulder-pads and her tiara that had transformed in her previous She-Ra state were nothing in comparison to the beauty that they were now. Her shoulders were cover in a pristine golden orange that jetted from the tips of her shoulder, nearly a foot in length, as they spiked across them to offer her shoulders maximum protection. Along with that, her tiara shimmered like never before as it grew, the tips along her cheek growing until they reached her jaw, and protruded inward an inch along her cheek where they curved.

The top of her tiara grew the most amazing pair of, what appeared to be, golden wings, one that extended right in front of her cat ears as they rose from the tiara's new shape. Within the center of this wonderful transformation, two small brow-like slits could be seen on both ends of the tiara above her eyes, while a lone, red, jewel was adorned within the center of this fascinating spectacle, one that sparkled like the light that grew from her.

As the sword passed halfway through her, Catra began to hug herself as the rest of her body continued to take shape. From her wrist, passed halfway up her elbows, grew the most formidable pair of bracers one could ever ask for, one that shined with a radiance like the protective anklets that formed along the sides of her legs, also stretched halfway up to her knees, though lowered on the inner sides of them. And despite the lack of shoes, the sword continued to offer its protection to her as it grew a shining force of gold sandals across her feet, thin enough for her to use her feet's claws and as sturdy enough as a tank's armor, despite how thin it was.

From within the center of her chest, the spirals of light began to gather as they spread across her body as a whole, creating a bright, shining, vine of energy that formed along her outfit as it sprouted in all directions and corners around her, creating a golden flower-like design in the middle as the petals were painted around her stomach, with the only golden lines that connected the collar of her chest-piece running down the middle of her outfit, connecting to the bottom of her spiked white skirt that grew around her waist, with a serene blue coloring on the inside.

Her legs weren't barren anymore as a simple weave of white covered them like it had her chest, a few slits along the knees to allow her the maximum mobility that she needed to preform her mighty leaps and agile reflexes that she was used to. They stretched all across her legs to the tips of her ankle where they were mostly transparent, allowing one to see the golden ankles that protected her legs.

As the incredible transformation slowly came to an end, the last of her magnificent appearance didn't end with another piece of clothing, but her hair. Her hair flashed in a sea of warmth as it grew along her back, nearly doubling in size, as its color changed to that of one of a blazing fire, lighter along her head and stretching out into a slightly darker orange. It was as if she had the fires of the morning sun blazing from behind her head.

With the last of her transformation finally coming to an end, the sword that phased through her shrank to a decent size as it spun around her, spiraling as if it was happy at the new transformation she had finally came to. With her form now fully completed, Catra threw her right hand behind her back, grabbing the sword's hilt, the same sword that appeared to gave grown an additional foot, as it was aimed across her left.

Opening her eyes, her transformation had finally been complete, the look of pride crossing her expression and amusement at what she had become.

The TRUE She-Ra had been formed.

...

...

A white resounding flash was the first indication that was world was returned to the way it once was. One by one, the individuals who had traversed this reality, the real world of this reality, started to return. Bow was still hugging Glimmer as the two made their return from nothingness, eyeing the familiar lab where all of their troubles began. Then, the two known as Lord Hordak and Shadow Weaver, individuals of the Horde and traitors to each other, returned from another corner, still crouched and slumped to the ground as their energy slowly returned to them.

Lastly, was Adora. A Force Captain who would've let the entire world go to ruin for her own selfish reasons as she returned to the real world. Groaning a bit, with the shake of her head, Adora rubbed her noggin as her head felt like it slammed into a brick wall. Upon touching the surface of her forehead, though, she noticed something out of place.

Or rather, something back in place.

She blinked as she felt herself a little more before examining her hand. Removing her glove, the sight appeared too good to be true as she rolled up her sleeve. Like everything else, it made her come to the same realization that she was having trouble coming to terms with.

Her corruption was gone. Her skin was back to the flawless normality that it once was.

*rumble*

It was a moment of joy that couldn't last any longer than it came. From the ground beneath her, Adora's hair blew in the wind as it was pulled in the direction of the swirling vortex behind her. Wrenches, bolts, various mechanical parts that made up the most of the laboratory, were being drawn in by the strong gravitational force of the portal. And just like Adora's moment of joy, it did't last any longer than it began.

The tools and appliances froze in front of Adora as she watched, turning to the portal once more as everything felt still around her. Eyes turned from every corner of the room as everyone was drawn to the sight of the portal, the sight of the figure that began to walk through it. The very person who was the mortal enemy to the Horde, and the hero of Etheria.

Catra. She-Ra. Hero, defector, survivor. Her friends were amazed by the sight as she stepped forth through the swirling green portal, a firm look of justice within her angry eyes as she made her appearance. Without skipping a beat, without waiting for any sense of planning, Catra turned back to the portal, glaring at the dreaded device with hatred and resentment.

"Haaaaaaaah!" With a bellowing cry of anger, raising her mighty sword above her head before crashing it down to the ground in front of her, cleaving the portal in one solid swipe.

Instantly, the sanctum shook violently from the girl's raw power that surged through the room, the portal destabilizing as all of Hordak's hard-earned work had come to an end. Brackets of machinery, twisted metals, broken wires. All of this and then some fell from the ceiling as everything began to crash around them. She-Ra had emerged victoriously through her troubles, and there wasn't anyone to defend Hordak from her wrath.

Or Adora.

"Come on!" Running up to her leader, Adora grabbed his wrist. "You have to go. Now!" Pondering the dilemma presented before him, Hordak grimaced.

All of his hard work, all of his time and effort, had come to ruin. Ruin by the hands of a traitor, a traitor that would've been one of his most valuable soldiers if she ever learned her place and finished her training. Instead, she ended up being the most destructive force he had ever had to deal with, one who turned the blade of the First Ones against the Horde itself. One of his greatest soldiers were forever his enemy, one he failed to execute when the time called for it.

Still outraged by the turnabout, the leader sighed silently to himself as he touched the jewel encrusted on his suit of armor. All of his effort had been for nothing. He couldn't call upon Horde Prime as intended, he couldn't make the portal last any longer than before, and now, he had the Rebellion to deal with.

He truly was a defect.

With a heavy heart, the leader fled, with Adora following a short distance behind him. Watching as he passed the doors, she turned her view back to her former friend, giving a small glare to the girl as she did something back that Adora never experienced before.

Catra glared back. No, not just glared. She resented the very sight of Adora. Her eyes narrowed as she saw her former friend. The one who caused all of this, the one who tore apart the entire world for her own selfish desires. The very person who was responsible for the death of Queen Angella, someone Catra was never going to see again. All of her hatred, all of her sorrow, was transfixed on her gaze to Adora as she glared intensely, actually sending a small pang of fear through the girl's heart.

Adora was dead to her.

Still refusing to let Catra have the final victory behind all of this, Adora gathered her powers as she raised her arms to her side. If she was going to be her enemy, then Adora was going to treat her like one as she... as she... she...

Adora's eyes widened a bit before looking at her arms. Despite all of her effort, all of her power, something tragic bell the girl as she stared at her twitching fingers.

"My powers are... gone..." She muttered, looking back to her former friend. As if waiting for some sort of reaction to occur, Adora waited for Aroda to pop up. For some figment of her mind to comment about how things were dire or "I told you so" before telling her to run, something that would've refreshed her senses as Catra stared to bare her fangs .

Nothing ever did. She couldn't summon her shadows, she couldn't summon any source of power. She had nothing. Nothing except for a mysterious fear of her former friend, one that showed in her eyes as she slowly backed away. With a heart of solid coldness, one that was breaking apart at every smooth edge, Adora retreated, dripping one last tear from her eyes as she vanished into the safety of the Horde, the cover of darkness behind her.

She was going to pay. Catra would make sure that whatever happens, Adora paid for what she did. But for now, she was just glad that everything else was alright.

Speaking of which...

"Catra!" It took the combined voices of her two friends rushing towards their grown friend to snap her out of it, returning the smiles to them as Glimmer jumped into her right arm and Bow into her left. All three of them began to tear up from sheer happiness as the air felt lighter around them, both smiling with beams of pride to their constantly-troubled friend. "See? We told you you could do it!" Glimmer was ecstatic, beyond words at the happiness around them."

"And check it out!" Bow gazed in amazement as he pulled his head back a little bit, seeing the familiar Claymore sword that he had only experienced once before in his lifetime. "You did it! You're She-Ra again."

"Yeah, well, hopefully it stays that way this time." Catra chuckled as she joked.

"SHE-RA!" Their attention shifted once again to the sound from the faraway door as they saw the several princesses rushing through the corridor. Unsurprisingly, with stars in her eyes, the first one to throw her arms around the girl's neck was Perfuma as Catra spun a little, nearly getting dizzy from a single turnaround as Perfuma smiled to her. "Thank the Universe you're all right! We were so worried!" She squealed as she hugged her again.

"Yeah," Catra jumped a little as she felt a soft nudge from Mermista's knuckle patting her shoulder, "you're definitely not cooler than Sea-Ra, but its pretty close." She joked too, placing a comforting arm around the girl's neck as her own way of hugging her.

For a moment, Catra embraced everyone. Feeling the sense of warmth coming off from the people who officially mattered in her life. Not the Horde, not Adora, these people. The ones who were always there to bring her up every day when she was down, and had her back at every waking moment of her life. These were the people she fought for, the people who gave her a reason to smile.

Except for that.

With the same eagerness that the rest of the princesses and Bow displayed, Frosta briefly rushed up to the same She-Ra they were all hugging stopping just a few short feet of it as she remembered.

She was still a traitor. She betrayed them. And Catra hated her guts. With an uneasy feeling of remembrance, reminded of the day that she nearly broke her arm, even if it was outside of her control, Frosta rubbed her right shoulder uneasily, unaware of the small frown growing on Catra's face.

What was Frosta supposed to say at the moment? She came here to save her, so that's good, right? She doubted it would've been enough, though, to quell Catra's anger. Knowing her, this was only the start of it all. If she was lucky, she probably would've had to do something drastic, like single-handedly win the entire war on her own, get shot in Catra's place or something, be ailing and sick on a deathbed, or some other ridiculous thing just to get Catra to accept her agai-

*tug*

Frosta blinked. She must've been hallucinating or something, cause for a moment, she could've sworn she was standing right beside Catra, in the middle of everybody, as Catra hugged her head closely to her. Just to make sure, she lifted her curious eyes up, staring up to a... possibly-fake, small, comforting smile on Catra's lips as she stared softly at the young princess in appreciation.

"Thanks for coming to save me, Frosty." She thanked.

She was hugging her, sorta. She was smiling to her. She gave her her own nickname again that wasn't something like "brat"! For the time, Frosta didn't seem to care as her own eyes watered with tears. Instead, she just embraced the possible insanity as she wrapped her small arms around Catra's legs, proud to be counted among her possible friends again.

"As touching as this is, we need to go." And to break the pleasant moment of peace the friends had was none other than Shadow Weaver with her announcement. Snapping them all out of their happiness-induced matter, the group was reminded of their present situation as they felt the lab shaking around them. They still needed to get out of the Fright Zone and back home in one piece before they could officially call it a day.

Nodding to one another, everyone gathered around Shadow Weaver and Glimmer as the pink-haired princess embraced Shadow Weavers' hand again in her own, combining their powers once more as the ritual had commenced.

Like before, and all other times, the group was surrounded by a dark flame of shadow on the outside edge of their small circle, one spinning around them in a mist of haze as the group prepared to teleport back to the comfort of Bright Moon. Glimmer winced with a small groan as she took the witch's power, feeling like she was losing something in the process as she did, but continued to push on through it all for the sake of her friends.

Consuming them in their entirety, the shadows danced and swirled around the group as it encased them in a dome-like sphere of protection, one large enough to keep everybody safe from harm, as they were all transported through with the same spell. In a reverse explosion from a wave of energy, the shadows poured into the center of the small dome before bursting in a gust of power, encompassing the room in a wave of shadow, and sending the friends to the place they all called Home.

...

*Swoosh*

The glowing enchanted circle of shadow was the first thing to arrive on the scene before the group slowly appeared in a flash of darkness. For a moment, Glimmer hesitated to open her eyes again, fearful of what she would see. Would it be back to the way it once was, or was she going to find herself in a world destroyed by the portal, where everything was crumbling to a pile of dust, the way she left it. Or was she going to get a stern talking to that would leave her ears bleeding for days? Any one of those scenarios sounded horrible to her.

It only took one small peek to know for sure.

They were home. Everyone was. And the place was just as beautiful as when she left it. The sky was crystal clear as the water in the ravine, the forest rustled with the gentle sound of wind blowing through the leaves, and her castle, the place that she called home, was still in one piece. Everything was exactly the way it should be.

Naturally, everyone cheered with excitement as they jumped about, shooting off a bit of magic in the escalating excitement as they returned from a very successful mission, and a very dear friend to them all. Glimmer swung in Bow's arms, Perfuma spun Frosta in her hands as the two laughed to one another, and Mermista's power surged all the way up to the top of the pillar they were all located at, shooting off into the breeze in recognition for their accomplishment.

This was a moment of joy for the wondrous heroes of Bright Moon, and the Rebellion.

"Did we do it?" Bow asked briefly, already knowing the answers as he set Glimmer back to her feet. "We did iiiit!"

"Hahaha! I'm probably going to be grounded for the rest of my life, but reality is back to normal!" Glimmer had never felt so relieved to be grounded upon her return as she smiled back. "Speaking of which, I guess I should go find my mom." Instantly, Catra's pupils shrank as she finished talking to Mermista, taking in what she had just heard. "Maybe she'll be so happy to see me that she'll forget about grounding me." She was completely unaware of the reality that transpired as Catra gritted away at her teeth, refusing to let her temper flare up.

Turning around, the feline slowly approached the Princess of Bright Moon as her friend caught notice of her strange expression. It wasn't happiness, it wasn't sadness, it was just... vacant. A vacancy that appeared to be making way for whatever sorrow was behind her eyes. "Catra?" Glimmer's voice caught the attention of her friends as they all noticed the same sorrow radiating off of Catra as well. "What is it?"

She didn't want to do First Ones, she desperately didn't want to do this. She almost wished they were back in their false reality again where everything was perfect, if only to spare herself of the pain that was sure to follow. Yet, the Queen's last words hung in her ears, even now.

"Take good care of each other."

They were going to haunt her for the rest of her life, Catra knew that as a fact. But she couldn't break the promise she gave her life for, and that included sharing in all the hardships and sadness from this point forward.

Even if it meant the sadness wasn't coming from her.

"... Glimmer..." In a white flash, the mystical warrior known as She-Ra returned to her original state, as their dear friend known as Catra stood before them again. That was when she did something that nobody, not even her closest friends, had ever seen her do before.

She embraced Glimmer in a hug as she wrapped her arms around her neck, without needing someone else to start it herself. "I'm sorry, but she... She stayed behind..." Everyone else froze with shock at the announcement, the wavering in Catra's tear-filled voice giving them no means to doubt her.

Save for a lone princess who's eyes almost watered before backing up from her feline friend. "Eh... Heheh, yeah, good one, C-Catra." The denial in her voice was evident, even if she didn't display it in her face. "That's just... one of your dark senses of humor, right? Come on, stop joking now," she tried to push away from the conversation as Catra just stood there, walking past her friend like everything was right in the world, "my mom's going to be upset if she hears you-"

*tug*

She couldn't move any further. Catra was still gripping her shoulder in her claws, refusing to let go as the anguish began to fill the void of the space between them. Gently as she could, Catra pulled the girl back, embracing her in a hug once more as her eyes continued to water. "She gave her life... So I wouldn't have to... tch..." She choked, already feeling the tears of denial flowing from Glimmer's cheeks. "She saved us... I'm sorry..." As the two princesses began to pull tighter, they were accompanied by the sorrow of their friends, ones who were feeling the same sense of despair that they were.

This was a moment of terror and sorrow for the heroes of Bright Moon, and the Rebellion.

They had all returned safely, but at the cost of a dear mother. A leader that was a hero to all of them, a mother to some of them, and an ally that they could never replace. For all their ups and downs, all of their faults, Angella was the one who balanced things between them, raising them all to depend on one another, and for Glimmer to be the rightful heir she always knew her out to be.

There was nothing but silence that filled in the air.

There was nothing but sorrow that filled in their hearts.

Angella, was never coming back.

...

...

*tap*

*tap*

*tap*

From his chair, he watched the screen intently. In front of him stood the complexed details and diagrams of the various signatures throughout space. A map that displayed the entire cosmos, markings and theorems that the simpleminded could never come to grasp, and a display that had yet to prove any viable results.

Until now.

*blip*

*blip*

Turning his chair a little, he saw an energy signature going off on his charts, a small little speck of a backwater planet that was displaying a mysterious source of energy. It was there that the left-most screen filled in with an image of Hordak himself, displaying and analyzing every detail of his being, including his accomplishments and failures in war's past.

Horde Prime had finally found the last world in the Universe that had yet to bow to his might.

"So, that's where you've been, little brother." All around him, screens and various readings continued to read off as the expanse of the world filled the found around him.

From outside of his humble domain revealed an immense spaceship, one of countless thousands, that continued to patrol the vast emptiness of space. They had just finished off the nearest planet, one with a large gaping chunk scraped from its surface, one of many that had refused to submit to his almighty will, and chose to be resilient until he was bored.

Within the glory of the Horde, there were never any two options when it came to Horde Prime. It was only "Join him", never die. Never until he was bored with whatever meager resistance a planet tried to rally. Such was the fate of all worlds, and such would be the fate of the mysterious planet his mighty empire had yet to discover until recently. With the information before him, Horde Prime, hidden by his chair, grinned a little as he already contemplated his next victory, over a quaint little planet that was nothing more than dust in the wind.

A planet, by the name, of Etheria...

...

...

The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell.

~ We're on the edge of greatness ~

Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance.

~ turning darkness into light ~

Final Word Count: 1.301+ Million

A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield.

~ We're right beside you ~

But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them.

Special Thanks: Endless Chains, Star Saber, Peyton Helix, Shadow Joestar, 444teme444, and Petie Doon for their constant love and support, including contributions such as writings and fan art in Petie's case (seriously go to instagram and look at all he's done, its amazing) as well as everyone else who saw this season through to the end.

~ Ready to Fight! ~

Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light

~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~

Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her.

~ We're gonna win in the end! ~

Final Review Count: 799

Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water.

~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~

Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines.

~(we must be brave) ~

Final Favorite Count: 209

Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks.

~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~

The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta.

~ and never let go ~

Final Follower Count: 183

The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines.

~ (Oh ah Oh) ~

Final Viewer Count: 136,017

Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer.

~ We must be STRONG! ~

The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;

A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half.

SEASON 3 OF CAT-RA: Complete

...

...

"No..."

*HRRRrrrrrooom*

The machine whirred with a brief life before dying down again.

"Come on..."

*HRRRrrrrrooom*

Different effort, same result.

"This can't be happening..." Adora choked on her own tears as she finally collapsed to the ground, pressing against it on her hands and knees. "What have I done?"

The Horde, was going to lose. Adora, was going to lose. Everything, was going to end. And it all came down on the one who tossed away a good friend, a friend she was jealous of since she first met Hordak, and one she let her jealousy show over one little time.

Entrapta was gone. The genius scientist, purple-haired friend to Adora, or ex-friend as of now, was no longer within the Horde. She was the Horde's best and brightest, Adora knew that clearly. She was the genius who made the Rebellion's defeat almost occur, not her. And now, that very person was either on a trip to Beast Island, or still going to Beast Island.

She didn't know if she still cared for her if she saw her again, only that she could acknowledge what she had accomplished. She was the one who knew how to build the Horde's mightiest weapons, the one behind the Horde's advanced portal technology that almost wiped out the entire world. Without her, the Horde suffered a loss and a severe disadvantage, as now, they were without one of the top scientists of Etheria, and Adora was without her magic.

She tried desperately, everything she could, to make the machine work again. The very machine that refilled her magic, siphoned off the dark energies corrupting her body, and made her good as new each and every day. She was hoping for a miracle, a miracle that would come once the machine recharged her energies again. Still connected to the Black Garnet, she thought the machine would work again like it always did, and it would refill her with the strength needed to fend off She-Ra, fend off Catra.

But nothing came.

There was no surge of power, there was no shadowy magic at her fingertips, there wasn't anything. Without Aroda, Adora realized that her powers were gone. Without any magical residual power, the machine would never work. She would no longer have the power to combat against the Rebellion, and she was the same weak young girl who stood little to no chance against Catra's new state of being for more than a minute. She was completely alone, now more than ever, for the first time in her life.

"Aroda... Aroda!" She called out, looking in every direction of the dark chamber. "Please... I need you... " She didn't have anyone else at her side, nobody to hug her as she hugged herself, still wearing the same long white-sleeved shirt as always, squeezing her arms as she pondered her sudden tragedy. "It's my fault... it's all my fault..." She cried to herself as she squeezed her eyes shut, her long flowing hair dangling in front of her as her eyes dripped to the ground.

Without Entrapta they had no technology. Without Aroda, she had no magic. Without either of them, it was only a matter of time before the Rebellion could wipe the Horde out. Catra and her stupid selfishness would win in the end, she would be locked away forever, at best, and everything she ever cared about would be gone forever.

All because of her.

"Adora?" The sound of Scorpia's voice did nothing to comfort Adora as she continued to cry in the middle of the dark room, approaching the sniveling girl quietly from behind as she kneeled down to her.

"It's all my fault, Scorpia..." Adora sniffed, unable to hold back her tears. "She's gone because of me..."

Scorpia was beside herself at this, but being the always-supportive friend she wanted to be, she did her best to give somewhat of a comforting smile to the girl. "H-Hey, it's okay, everything will be alright." From behind, the big friend gave a soft hug to her troubled ally. "I miss her, too."

For a moment, Adora was completely taken back by this. "Y-You... You do?" She sniffed.

"Of course! Entrapta was a good friend." Scorpia commented, clearly missing the mark of who Adora truly was referring to. "She made so many wonderful things, and she helped us both out a lot, especially you."

"O-Oh... y-yeah..." Adora feigned acceptance as she pretended to agree. There was no way she could state it was the "talking voice" in her head that she was referring to, knowing there was no way to explain it to her that made sense, or kept her from seeming any more senile than she already was. She softly clutched Scorpia's claw a little, appreciating the comfort all the same. "I don't know what I was thinking... Ugh, I'm such an idiot!"

"Hey, hey, calm down, it'll be alright." Scorpia assured, patting her head. "I'm... sure you were just scared when tased her, a lot was going on around here. But we'll work through it like we always do. With you leading us, the Horde will be just fine. After all, you managed to fix the world like I knew you would, right?"

"Mmmh... y-yeah." She wanted to tell her the truth, now more than ever, for a change. Not just to comfort her own sense of assurance, but because it was Scorpia she was dealing with. Through thick and thin, she was the only one who she could count on to be by her side, all the way until the very end. And she couldn't fathom having someone like her of all people finally leaving her side like all the others. She wasn't like everyone else. She was somebody Adora knew that could be trusted.

She was the only one left that could be trusted. "I... guess you're right..." She sniffed, wiping away her tears from her soaked eyes. "Thanks, Scorpia."

"Anytime!' Scorpia always felt proud of herself when she managed to brighten up Adora's day. She couldn't sit by and watch Adora's troubles crying out from her and doing nothing about it. There was no telling what the girl had been through all throughout her experience after she disappeared from the fake world. All she knew was that with someone was reliable as Adora behind everyone, that she was going to keep them safe.

With a smile, the large friend finally stood up from the girl, walking towards the door as she intended to give the girl her much-needed space. As she reached the door, holding a claw against the metallic frame, a thought crossed her mind that she was hopeful for. "Say, uh, Adora?" She piqued, looking back into the room. "Would you, uh... I don't know..." She blushed a little, turning her eyes away. "Maybe, want to... play a board game, or something, later on? We could invite Lonnie and Daisy to play too. I mean, it could be just us, too, but I don't mind the extra company. Unless you plan on doing something else, or whatever, that works too."

"... You know..." Adora lifted her head a little, forcing herself to give as soft of a pained smile as she could looking back. "I'd love to play a game after all of this." Instantly, as expected, Scorpia beamed with excitement as she suppressed an incredible squee of enjoyment from her heart, pressing her claws against her mouth with happiness.

"Eeeep!" She screamed internally. "I'll go make some popcorn!" She was already planning on a hundred different fun things they could do while they played and a variety of rules they could enlist in the boardgame. Just thinking about all the fun she and all her friends would have was sending off rockets of excitement throughout her mind without end!

Waiting until the door finally closed behind her, Adora moaned a tearful sigh as she stood up. Once again, she lied to Scorpia. She wasn't interested in a board game right now of all times, there was still too much on her mind, too much despair in her heart. She wanted nothing more than to be alone right now where nobody could see her like this, as someone who was weak and defenseless as she was.

But she also couldn't disappoint her friend, either. Not just for her sake, but for her future as well. This might have been one of the last few times in either of their lives where they got to do something fun with each other before everything came to a terrible end. An end that resulted in both of them being held prisoners, along with the rest of the Horde, where nothing but despair and sorrow filled the remains of their days.

She just wanted to give her another day where she could be happy, for old time's sake, before everything was pulled out of her arms.

Walking up to the Black Garnet, Adora teared up again as she gazed into it, spotting her reflection. She put a hand against it as she pushed her head into it, trembling again as the tears dripped from her closed eyes.

"I'm sorry... everyone..." And with her final utterance, a tear dripped from her chin, onto one of the small crevices of the red crystal standing before her.

She would never know peace again as she sighed. Because of her, defeat was inevitable. Her many alliances were failing with traitors left and right, the princesses were growing empowered as time went on, and now, they lacked a genius princess of their own that could bring them out through the darkness that lied ahead, somebody that Hordak, that Adora, knew could be depended upon.

Someone reliable.

"Huff..." She wondered how long they had as she pulled away from the giant crystal. With nothing else to do, the most she could hope for was for Scorpia, Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio, everyone she cared about, to be spared from the Rebellion's, from She-Ra's, wrath. Nothing but endless sorrow and dark clouds loomed over Adora's mind as she-

*tug*

... As she-

*tug*

...

*tug-tug*

Okay, what was going on here? She looked back to the crystal as she noticed her hand's refusal to pull away from it. Did she get her sleeve caught on something stuck to the Black Garnet. She blinked curiously at the strange rock as she looked around her right hand. She couldn't see anything pulling on her sleeve. In fact, her sleeve was several inches from her wrist, so there couldn't be anything pulling against it right now.

So why couldn't she move her hand from the crystal?

*zip*

... She just imagined that right? For a second there, Adora could've sworn that-

*zip*

There it was again. There was no doubt any longer. Static-like electricity began to draw from the tips of her hands as her fingertips sparkled. It was bizarre, like really bizarre. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn she was making the electricity coming from her hands itself, not some build-up of static like when she rubs her socks against a rug and touched something.

And it was when the Black Garnet began to brighten around her hand that things truly began to grow mysterious.

"What the-?" Was all Adora managed to say to herself before it happened.

*ZZZZZZZZZZSHSHSHSHSHSHSH*

"Nggggggh! Aghhhhh-!" Adora cried out as quietly to herself as possible as it all came to her. From every surface of the large massive crystal, every corner, every edge, she felt a strange sense of warmth building up from under her palms as felt something being drawn into her body. "W-What's... happ..." She squeezed her mouth shut as she tried to power through the pain, trying to ignore whatever terrible sensation was wracking her body with a familiar pain that she felt dozens of times before.

It was as if her hand had a mind of its own as it continued to pulsate with electricity, a strange power that was dancing around the seams of her nails. She's never experienced such a strange state of being before, a raw energy that was being sucked into her very own body. Stranger still, the longer it lasted, the lighter her body began to feel, almost as if her very existence was being... elevated in such a way. And that was when she saw something else in the reflection of her eyes.

The blue iris of her eyes had turned red, much like she did whenever she wore the headband.

"What?" Finally, after several more grueling shocking seconds, she finally managed to let go, swinging her hand back with haste. Almost immediately after, from the ground beneath her feet, a pool of shadows appeared as a dozen familiar tendrils of shadowy magic waved around her, ready to keep the master safe as Adora stared off into the darkness around her.

"Huh?" Her powers... returned? Was that even possible? To lose them again and to get them back? Actually, thinking about it for a few seconds, she didn't have powers to start out with, and then obtained them, so it was just as likely. The thing that bothered her about her strange unexplained power were the drawbacks she was experiencing.

There was none.

All around her hands, both of them, she scanned from from head to toe, several times each, multiple times, and couldn't find a single trace of the dark shadows in her veins, the things that made her constantly sick, that limited her functionality and how long she could maintain her magic for. She even checked her feet for added precaution, and still didn't find anything amiss. If anything, she felt better right now, better than ever, in fact, as she continued to examine the situation unfolding around her.

It's not like it bothered her or anything. Why, she was more than thankful to discover that her powers had returned to her in some way. The only part she wanted to understand was how? How did her powers return to her out of the blue like that? Or out of... the Black Garnet...

She shot back to her giant crystal as she peered deeply into it, recounting the reflection that she saw. There was no Aroda, no voices or uncontrollable shadows plaguing her like they always had, but her eyes had turned red in the iris as they did before, as they always did when she wore her headband. When she put it on, when it empowered her, when she drew upon the power from her surroundi-...

"Wait a minute..." Adora gazed back at her own two hands again before trying something. With a bit of determination and willpower, she placed her hands firmly against the crystal once more, finding the answers to what she was guessing as another wave of power coursed through her body. Only this time, it didn't hurt. Why, she almost could've sworn it felt... good. Very good as her look of pain slowly morphed into glee.

After another few seconds, she finally pulled her hands away again without any interruptions or stalling, and watched with amazement as the shadows around her intensified in power and size. It was then, that she finally remembered the look Shadow Weaver was giving her in her eyes, when she saw her former mother one last time...

...

She had no choice. It had to be done. Even if it meant living with the regret of it, it was far too late. Holding up a hand to the girl once more as Bow started to break loose from his sap-like arrow, Shadow Weaver sighed. "Forgive me, Adora." She apologized before squeezing her hand.

"Aghhhhhhhhh!" Adora screamed in agony as her whole body felt like it was convulsing, being crushed on every side by Shadow Weaver's power, the small tendrils trying to rip the aura over herself from the inside out beginning to wane.

Shadow Weaver had no choice. It would be her burden and her loss to deal with after. The parasite's bond with Adora had grown too strong, too dangerous for the girl to maintain. If something like that continued to exist within the world, continued to absorb energy, to bond further with Adora for its quest for power, there's no telling how dangerous it would be.

Either of them.

...

"Heh... Heheheh... Hehehahahahahahaha!" Adora cackled madly with a rush of happiness as she threw her head back with glee. While her words were never uttered, Adora could tell everything going on within Shadow Weaver's mind by the way she looked at her, the strain as she feared her, and what she dreaded Adora becoming if she was exposed to Aroda, the Spell of Obtainment, for too long.

Through her prolonged exposure to the spell, Adora had acquired the power to drain magic through the touch of her hands.

"Hahahaha, hmhmhmhmmhm..." Thousands and thousands of opportunities came spiraling into Adora's smiled as she smiled mischievously to herself. She felt good about herself again, about her situation. She finally had a chance to turn their dark future around again at the conundrum presented in front of her. Most importantly, she felt powerful, and it felt good as her eyes returned to the normal shade of blue, and her shadows retreated to nothingness.

"You were right, Aroda. You were right all along." Proudly, Adora began to march out of the Black Garnet chamber, and into the darkness of the Fright Zone. "The more power I have, the more I control." She recalled to herself. "If I want to control what happens around me, I need more power." This was the way of the universe. Adora realized that now. And with a new power at her fingertips, she couldn't think of anything more powerful than having a sword that could alter the very landscape of reality itself, one that held the very power to create a peaceful paradise for an entire world.

And destroy it.

She wanted more power. She wanted that sword. For a moment, she wanted to have everything that could save her ideal world.

Adora Has Become The Parasite.

...

...

...

A/N: ... Awwwwhnnnnnn... *yawns heavily* Okay, alright! After several weeks of being on hiatus, it's time to finally get back to my work and begin episode 5 of season 3-... WHO THE HECK"S BEEN USING MY ACCOUNT AND POSTING IN MY PLACE?! I outta delete it all right now and-!... uhh... hmmm... huh... not bad writing now that i look at it... wellll i guess I can ignore it just this one. Saves me the trouble.

Lol, how's it going guys XP hopefully no one cried themselves to death because dear GOD was this a depressing chapter to go through _ I can not tell you how many times i teared up from just writing it alone (seriously you think reading it is hard?). But now we've done it, we've completed, a one of a kind, SEASON 3 FINALE! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

UGGGGGGGHHHHH im exhausted and tired XD! But god it feels good to accomplish so much! I can't thank anyone more than the constant times i have in my chapters and everything. I want everyone to know how much I appreciate the constant feedback, the reviews, and the fact this story is NOT over and thankful for those who understood the joke for the last 2 episodes XP lol.

Anyway, now a big question for you guys- do you want me to continue to episode one of season 4 or to watch the whole season first BEFORE i write again? I ask this because, guilty me, I actually kinda cheated and watched the first episode of the next season XP i know i know, i'm sorry, i was just too excited and shocked to see what would happen next, and after seeing it, im more than excited to continue watching it before I stop, THEN watch the rest of the season.

Or would you prefer me watching the entire season? I ask this because Petie has made, no joking, a freaking AWESOME adora drawing for her new appearance of season 4. It's great! The catch? ITS NOT POSTED YET! Or at least not without being on a private viewing gallery. He'll only post Adora's new appearance after I finish episode 1, INCLUDING CATRAS, who is also getting a new look :D!

But again, i know it would also be kind of weird to stop after episode 1 instead of the season finale. I also ask this in case i wind up on another hiatus again, and it could take another near-year to get back into writing again X/ ultimately, this is your choice people, so no pressure... *cough* AWESOMEPICTURE-! *cough*

Lol, seriously thuogh, thank you all so much for continuing this journey with me, and reaching the halfway point of the ENTIRE SERIES ^^! WHOOOOOOOOO! Huff, and now, with that said, I'd like to thank you all and hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review, and hope to see you soon!